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Posted on 12/01/2006 8:36:14 PM PST by nwctwx
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I could have used Mr. RR's help a month or so ago when birds kept dropping dead in my driveway. Turns out they were slamming into the basketball hoop. I ended up putting reflective stickers on the hoop.
Thanks to The Lion for starting this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1753794/posts
"DHS: Identity theft a growing means for illegal immigration"
Agriculture Online ^ | 12/14/2006 | Jeff Caldwell
Posted on 12/14/2006 8:42:02 PM PST by TheLion
Thanks....this is really a can of worms. I hope they can get a handle on it.
I hope so, too.
We watched the movie Wednesday night. I can't say we enjoyed it, because it brought back that terrible day, but the movie was well made. It was nice to see his vision of Jesus portrayed in the movie. I was a little surprised, because Hollywood usually makes fun of Jesus.
The movie was a tribute to the brave heroes who went into the buildings that day, and the brave people who came from all over to help in the recovery.
Yep, I'm not an Oliver Stone fan (didn't see the movie), but this gentleman's story was sincere and inspirational. I'm glad I read the article.
Thanks to laenchiladita for the ping to this article.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1753823/posts
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1215/p02s01-ussc.html
from the December 15, 2006 edition
"Shiite? Sunni? Some in US learn who's who.
While some in Congress made gaffes, police, businesses, and others are boning up on Muslim culture.?
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
December 15, 2006
Note: The following text is a quote:
Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D.
P O Box 27693
Alb., NM 87125
Tel: (505) 400-7145
www.joyjunction.org
www.homelessbook.com
American Attending Baptist Church in Kazakhstan Fined and Given Deportation Order for "Illegal" Bible Discussion
After seven law-enforcement officials secretly filmed a foreign church member taking part in a Bible discussion at a state-registered Baptist church in Kazakhstan, he was forced to leave the country.
Kazakhstan is in central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/kz.html).
According to Forum 18 News Service, Dan Ballast, an American who for 11 years belonged to the Spring of Water Church, was fined the equivalent of three months average salary and given a deportation order.
Although the deportation order was later rescinded, Ballast left Kazakhstan on Nov. 22. "Dan was a member of our church for 11 years, but they said that as a foreign citizen he was not allowed to teach or even speak in the church," one congregation member told Forum 18. "Officials questioned us for an hour-and-a-half after the service, and we told them we didn't want to violate the law."
On Oct. 23, Forum 18 reported that Judge Y. Kuderbayev of the town administrative court found Ballast guilty of violating Article 394 part 2 of the Code of Administrative Offences, which punishes "failure of the goals of entry to accord with the goals indicated in the visa."
In addition to the deportation order, Forum 18 reported that Ballast was fined 41,200 tenge (or 320 U.S. dollars), about three months average salary in Kazakhstan. The East Kazakhstan Regional court annulled Ballast's deportation order on Nov. 14, as he was already due to leave the country when his contract at Oskemen's Kazakh-American Free University ended, and he was able to show the court his departure ticket. He left Kazakhstan after paying the fine.
A friend of Ballast in Kazakhstan told Forum 18 that, as a church member, Ballast should have every right to take part in the religious life of his chosen religious community regardless of his nationality.
"Apparently someone forgot to explain to the Kazakhstan government that residents and citizens are guaranteed their rights to religion regardless of profession," Forum 18 reported the friend said. "This violates both freedom of religion and freedom of speech."
Forum 18 reported the news service was unable to reach anyone for official comment as to why the Spring of Water church was being spied on during a service, and why Ballast was punished for speaking to a religious congregation to which he had belonged for 11 years.
Forum 18 reported that rules restricting "missionary activity" by foreign citizens without specific authorization were introduced in 2003 with amendments to the decree governing the entry, exit and presence in Kazakhstan of foreign citizens. Amendments to Kazakhstan's religion law in July 2005 banned both foreigners and local people from conducting "missionary activity" without specific state approval (see F18News www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=701).
Officials interpret this, Forum 18 reported, as banning foreigners from doing anything more than merely attending meetings. The Kazakhstan Migration Police claimed that, by speaking in his local church, Ballast had violated the terms of his business visa, which allowed him only to work at the university.
However, Almaty-based law professor Roman Podoprigora, who specializes in laws on religion, believes such interpretations of the law to be illegal. "There are no provisions in law which prohibit foreigners from participating in religious ceremonies in different roles," he told Forum 18. "Under Kazakh law there is no special type of missionary visa, while under the existing Religion Law, service in a registered religious organization is not recognized as missionary activity."
Forum 18 reported that congregation members were emphatic that the church - which is outside the framework of the Kazakhstan Baptist Union - has state registration and has not otherwise encountered problems. "There shouldn't be any consequences for the church over what happened to Dan."
The youth service on Sun. Aug. 20 was attended by about 60 people, and it was during a discussion of various Bible passages that Ballast came up to speak. "Dan didn't preach but merely gave his personal view of a Bible passage," church members told Forum 18. "He spoke for about 30 minutes."
Asked how law-enforcement officials knew about the service and why they filmed it, one church member told Forum 18, "Someone (called) them. These things happen here."
After the service, Forum 18 reported that the police officers present, who had filmed Ballast speaking, questioned the pastor and congregation members and forced witnesses to sign statements that Ballast had been preaching. The following day, he was ordered to report to the town prosecutor’s office, where he was questioned for three hours.
Prosecutors initially intended to prosecute Ballast for working as a "missionary" without being registered with the town authorities, sources told Forum 18. But a few days later, the prosecutors dropped the case and sent the papers to the Migration Police, to see if they could find a way to punish him.
Ballast was ordered to report to the Migration Police on five separate occasions over the following six weeks. Eventually, Forum 18 reported, they opened a formal case against him, saying he had violated the terms of his visa. They stated that the law requires that a person must engage only in activities related to their visa.
According to Forum 18, ironically, officials had earlier praised Ballast for his educational work in Kazakhstan and administration of scholarships for local students to the United States. Ballast received awards from the East Kazakhstan Regional administration and the Ministry of Education. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev personally presented Ballast with his master's degree in Kazakh Language and Literature, that he earned from East Kazakhstan State University.
The Kazakh authorities have been treating foreigners who are active in local religious communities with growing suspicion, Forum 18 reported.
South Korean pastor Kim U Sob, who led the Love Presbyterian Church in the southern Kazakh town of Kyzyl-Orda for eight years - and had been invited to an event as an official speaker by the authorities - was punished for conducting religious activity in a town near Kyzyl-Orda, while having permission to conduct "missionary activity" only in the town itself. His accreditation was revoked and the Migration Police then refused to extend his visa once it expired (see F18News www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=871). Pastor Kim was forced to leave Kazakhstan on Nov.14.
Forum 18 reported that one source speaking on condition of anonymity said the judge in Pastor Kim's case told his lawyer, Timur Kupeshev, that he had been given 10,000 U.S. dollars to prosecute him. If Kim offered the judge 15,000 U.S. dollars the case could be dropped, the source stated. Forum 18 said the news organization has been unable to confirm this.
Members of the Tabligh Jama’at international Islamic missionary organization - both Kazakh citizens and foreigners - have been fined this year for preaching in mosques without accreditation. A number of the foreigners have been expelled (see F18News www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=868).
Choosing not to apply in Nov. for an extension of his visa was Hare Krishna devotee Govinda Swami, an American member of the embattled Sri Vrindavan Dham commune in Karasai district near Almaty.
Swami told Forum 18 on Dec. 7 that after the government commission formed allegedly to resolve the conflict had begun its work, local religious affairs official Ryskul Zhunisbayeva complained that he was working as a "missionary without a missionary visa" and threatened that his visa would not be renewed.
On Nov. 21, the day after Govinda Swami left Kazakhstan, Forum 18 reported authorities began bulldozing Hare Krishna-owned homes at the commune. Forum 18 commented that the authorities seem determined to complete the demolition and confiscation despite an international outcry (see F18News www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=885).
In recent years other foreign citizens leading local religious communities have seen their visas revoked or not renewed, while other foreign citizens invited to Kazakhstan for religious events have faced denials of visas (see F18News www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=578).
Meanwhile, Forum 18 reported, two local Baptists in East Kazakhstan Region are still refusing to pay the heavy fines they were given in June for continuing to lead their unregistered congregation. This is despite the imminent confiscation of property from one, and the deduction of the amount from the pension of the other (see F18News www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=881).
"We refuse absolutely to pay as we’re not guilty before God or the state of any crime," Pyotr Shevel told Forum 18. "Our Constitution allows us freedom of worship, so why do they our church as if it is a terrorist group just because we worship without registration?"
Shevel said his refrigerator and other property designated for confiscation, if he does not pay the fine, have not yet been seized. Nor has the fine yet been deducted, as threatened, from the pension of his fellow-Baptist Yegor Prokopenko. However, Shevel fears this could happen at any time.
"Fines on our people are happening almost everywhere in Kazakhstan because we won't register with the authorities," Forum 18 reported Shevel said. Other Baptists of the Council of Churches - who refuse on principle to register their congregations as they believe this leads to unacceptable state control over their internal affairs - have told Forum 18 that fines have recently been handed down in the capital Astana, as well as in towns as far apart as Kokshetau in the north and Shymkent in the south.
Information demanded for state registration in Kazakhstan often greatly exceeds anything necessary just to obtain legal status, Forum 18 reported. Both Baptists (see F18News www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=797) and Hare Krishna devotees (see F18News www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=885) have complained to Forum 18 about "the highly intrusive and unreasonable demands" the state makes for information, under the guise of registration applications.
Forum 18 reported that legal restrictions on religious freedom have been increased by the authorities, with the 2005 passage of "extremism" and "national security" amendments, which (amongst other things) ban unregistered religious activity, greatly curtail missionary activity, enhance state control over religious education, and permit suspension of registration of a religious organization, with a ban on speaking to the media by members of the organization (see the F18News Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=701).
Some fear that more legal restrictions being planned by the KNB secret police will ban sharing beliefs and all missionary activity (see F18News www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=859).
For more background, see Forum 18's Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=701.
UPDATE...
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/12/indonesian_militant_sentenced_1.php
Indonesian militant sentenced for 2001 bombing
By Kenneth Conboy
Solahudin, a 30 year old Indonesian militant, was sentenced to four years on Thursday for helping store explosives that were used in a failed 2001 bombing at the entrance to a shopping mall in Central Jakarta. Their target was not the mall itself, but rather a church congregation that regularly waited for a bus near that entrance. The bomb went off prematurely, taking off the legs of one of the terrorists. One Malaysian militant has been sentenced to death and two Indonesians have already been given life sentences for the incident. Solahudin was arrested in April during a raid on a suspected safehouse used by Jemaah Islamiyah fugitive Noordin Top.
December 14, 2006 09:35 PM
More details...
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/061213dc.htm
December 13, 2006
U.S. Uncovers Large-Scale Identity Theft Scheme Used By Illegal Aliens to Gain Employment at Nationwide Meat Processor
Worksite enforcement investigation reveals that hundreds of U.S. citizens and lawful residents may have been victimized
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Julie L. Myers, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras and Cache County (UT) Attorney N. George Daines today announced that approximately 1,282 persons have been arrested as part of an ongoing worksite enforcement investigation into immigration violations and a massive identity theft scheme that has victimized large numbers of U.S. citizens and lawful U.S. residents.
Yesterday, ICE agents executed civil search warrants at six facilities owned by Swift & Company (Swift), one of the nation’s largest processors of fresh pork and beef. Agents executed warrants at Swift facilities in Greeley, Colorado; Grand Island, Nebraska; Cactus, Texas; Hyrum, Utah; Marshalltown, Iowa; and Worthington, Minnesota.
In total, agents apprehended 1,282 illegal alien workers on administrative immigration violations at Swift facilities. Of these, 65 have also been charged with criminal violations related to identity theft or other violations, such as re-entry after deportation. Countries of origin of those arrested were: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Peru, Laos, Sudan and Ethiopia; others have yet to be identified. The investigation is ongoing.
“Violations of our immigration laws and privacy rights often go hand in hand,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “Enforcement actions like this one protect the privacy rights of innocent Americans while striking a blow against illegal immigration.”
“This investigation has uncovered a disturbing front in the war against illegal immigration. We believe that the genuine identities of possibly hundreds of U.S. citizens are being stolen or hijacked by criminal organizations and sold to illegal aliens in order to gain unlawful employment in this country. Combating this burgeoning problem is one of ICE’s highest priorities,” said Assistant Secretary Myers.
Evidence uncovered during the investigation, which began in February 2006, indicates that hundreds of these illegal aliens may have illegally assumed the identities of U.S. citizens and improperly used their Social Security numbers and other identity documents in order to gain employment at Swift facilities. ICE and the FTC have identified hundreds of U.S. citizens whose stolen identities have been used by these aliens and have reported being victimized by this identity theft scheme. ICE and the FTC are working to identify other victims who may be unaware that their identities have been stolen.
The investigation has uncovered criminal organizations around the country that traffic in genuine birth certificates and Social Security cards belonging to U.S. citizens. In recent months, ICE agents have arrested several members of these organizations in Minnesota, Texas, Utah and Puerto Rico. In some cases, these organizations have stolen legitimate identity documents and Social Security cards from unwitting U.S. citizens. In other cases, they have purchased these documents from U.S. citizens willing to sell their identities for money, including homeless people and individuals in jail.
ICE agents learned that many of these genuine identity documents were trafficked to locations around the country and sold to illegal aliens who used them to gain employment at Swift. By using valid Social Security numbers and birth certificates of U.S. citizens, these illegal aliens were able to thwart the Basic Pilot Employment Eligibility Verification system (Basic Pilot), a federal program designed to help employers detect unauthorized workers. Swift has used the Basic Pilot program since 1997.
The FTC has received hundreds of complaints from U.S. citizens across the country who allege that they became aware that their identities were being used illegally. Among the victim complaints were:
A victim in Texas stated their personal information was used for employment. Victim also reported he was pulled over and arrested once since the suspect used his information for illegal activity. Victim believes the suspect got his information because he lost his wallet. FTC information indicates suspect was working at Swift.
Victim in Texas reports that suspect obtained utility accounts and a Sprint wireless account using their information. The victim believes theft may be result of purse theft in 2001. FTC information indicates that suspect was working at Swift.
The FTC and ICE will notify any individuals who are identified as victims of this scheme. In the meantime, any U.S. citizens who suspect their identities were stolen in this scheme should report it via the FTC website at www.ftc.gov/idtheft or by calling the FTC’s hotline at 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338), or by writing to the Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20580.
Those illegal aliens arrested yesterday on administrative immigration violations are being detained and processed at locations around the country for removal proceedings or immediate return to Mexico. In certain cases where humanitarian or medical concerns were identified, ICE agents used their discretion and provided the alien with a notice to appear in court at a later date. All will be afforded due process under the law and an opportunity to appear before an Immigration Judge. Relatives or other concerned parties seeking information on the location or status of an illegal alien who may have been arrested at Swift facilities yesterday may call 866-341-3858.
Those illegal aliens who were charged with federal criminal violations will be remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service pending their criminal court proceedings before a federal judge. Those illegal aliens charged in state criminal violations will be remanded to the custody of state authorities pending their criminal court proceedings. ICE will seek to remove these individuals from the United States upon the resolution of their criminal charges and affiliated sentences.
This ongoing investigation is a collaborative effort between ICE, the FTC, the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General, the Weld County (CO) District Attorney, the Cache County (UT) Attorney, the United States Attorney’s offices for the Southern District of Iowa, the District of Colorado, the District of Nebraska, the Northern District of Texas and District of Utah, and the District of Minnesota. The Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided critical assistance during the execution of warrants and processing of aliens.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=pakistan
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1753828/posts
"A Big Problem With Pakistan"
RealClearPolitics ^ | December 12, 2006 | Peter Brookes
Posted on 12/15/2006 12:30:55 AM PST by neverdem
https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=60414
"Bangladesh Demonstrations December 15-16"
Safety and Security
South / Central Asia - Bangladesh
14 Dec 2006
Note: The following text is a quote:
FBI PRESS RELEASE:
http://atlanta.fbi.gov/pressrel/2006/fugitivearrest121306.htm
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Atlanta – Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Gregory Jones, FBI Atlanta, announces the arrest of fugitive Boris Mogilevich which occurred this past Saturday, December 09, 2006, in Bucharest, Hungary.
Mogilevich was wanted for his alleged involvement in a large scale drug trafficking organization that is thought to transport marijuana from Mexico through Texas and on to Atlanta, Georgia. The marijuana is then allegedly distributed to Northern Florida and North Carolina. On January 15, 2004, a local arrest warrant was issued by the Dekalb County Magistrate Court in Decatur, Georgia, charging Mogilevich with violation of the Georgia Controlled Substance Act (VGCSA). On February 25, 2004, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Mogilevich in Atlanta, Georgia, charging him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Mogilevich is also wanted in Brazos County, Texas where a warrant for his arrest was issued on January 23, 2004, charging him with murder. This warrant stems from an incident in which it is alleged that in August of 2003, Mogilevich and an accomplice who is already in custody, traveled to Bryan, Texas, and shot and killed a man as ordered by the drug trafficking organization.
Mogilevich was arrested by the Hungarian Police via an Interpol Notice filed through the Atlanta office FBI. Mogilevich was currently living in Romania at the time of his arrest and had been traveling between Romania and Israel.
Extradition proceedings have begun with the U.S. Department of Justice and Hungarian officials to bring Mogilevich back to the U.S. to face the above charges. He will most likely return to Texas initially to face homicide charges there.
The arrest of Mogilevich is a result of perseverance and cooperation by law enforcement authorities at Dekalb County, Georgia, Brazos County, Texas, Interpol, Legal Attaches of the FBI, and the Hungarian Police.
The public is reminded that the above are merely allegations and that all persons are to be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Fri Dec 15 2006 00:50:40 GMT-0800.
Worldwide Caution
October 11, 2006
There is NO Bucharest, Hungary - it's Budapest, Hungary or Bucharest, Romania.
Does anyone fact check anymore?
Heard something on FOX about an explosion in or near the Detroit Police Headquarters.
Can't seem to find a thing on it as of yet.
I don't know what is the correct one. I found this article:
http://www.khou.com/news/state/stories/khou061213_tnt_fugitivecaught.7771a72.html
"Fugitive wanted for murder in Brazos County caught in Hungary"
03:55 PM CST on Wednesday, December 13, 2006
From 11 News staff reports
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Boris Mogilevich, wanted in connection with the drug-related killing of a man in Bryan, was arrested by the Hungarian Police via an Interpol notice filed through the FBI in Atlanta.
Mogilevich was living in Romania at the time of his arrest."
http://www.truthusa.com/MoreThanCartoons.html
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http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=23672_Islamic_Cleric_Still_Offering_$1M_to_Kill_Danish_Cartoonist&only
Friday, December 15, 2006
"Islamic Cleric Still Offering $1M to Kill Danish Cartoonist"
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December 14, 2006
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C12%5C14%5Cstory_14-12-2006_pg7_7
‘Fatwa for Danish cartoonist’s killing won’t be withdrawn’
PESHAWAR: Mohabbat Khan Mosque Khateeb Maulana Muhammad Yousuf Qureshi said on Wednesday that a fatwa (decree) issued for the killing of a Danish cartoonist who had drawn caricatures of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), would not be withdrawn.
“We have put a price on the blasphemer’s head, and will pay one million dollars to the person who kills him,” Qureshi told Daily Times. Qureshi said that the US government had banned his entry into America and refused him a visa after he issued the fatwa against the cartoonist working for Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Qureshi, who has been criticising the US and leading anti-US rallies, said he was not against Americans. He said he had visited the US every year between 1984 and 2000, but stopped going there after the 9/11 attacks. “I am only against US government policies which are anti-Muslim,” he said. staff report
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