World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #12 Security Watch

Welcome to the thread.

The next post is a collection of today’s terror news headlines that you will want to check out.

Terror is never ending.

The world cannot afford a ‘failed’ Pakistan
The Pakistan Link Wed, 19 Nov 2008 7:34 AM PST
WASHINGTON: The danger of a failed state, replete with nuclear weapons, ethnic tensions, Taliban sympathisers and Osama Bin Laden in residence, is chilling, according to Lee Hamilton, former congressman and co-author of the 9/11 report.

http://www.pakistanlink.com/Headlines/Nov08/19/10.htm

http://www.pakistanlink.com/community.htm

Headlines:

November 14, 2008

* Over 1,800 Attend 12th Annual CAIR-LA Banquet
* AMT Survey: 89 Percent of Muslim Voters Picked Obama
* AMT Congratulates Obama
* US Muslims Offer Support for Ensuring a Safe and Free America
* COPAA Congratulates President-Elect
* Mir Anees and Chakbast Remembered in Milpitas
* An Evening to Remember
* APPNA Responds to Baluchistan Earthquake
* PAKPAC Files Amicus Curiae Brief in Civil Rights Case for Detained Pakistani
* ‘Obsession’ Inspires Jewish Peace Group to ‘Stand with’ Muslims
* Conference on“Physics and the World of Today”
* Muslims, Christians Vow to Jointly Combat Terror
* Consul General’s Visit to Phoenix
* Obama’s Pakistani-American Supporters Rejoice on His Victory
* Balochistan Earthquake Relief Fund

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/8381

Successfully Attacking America
Cheshvan 21, 5769, 19 November 08 11:57
by Emanuel A. Winston

(IsraelNN.com) Few realists are surprised that Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin-Laden are issuing threats that, in the coming months, attacks exceeding the destruction of 9/11 will be launched against American and European targets. I am certain that all counter-terrorism experts are burning the midnight oil, assembling lists of vulnerable targets, delivery systems of all the weapons of choice, and who in our communities might be the sleeper cells who will be the attackers.

We should add to that list what our leaders should be doing, or what they should or could do once the inevitable attacks commence.

I am concerned that the new President Barack Obama will waffle and do virtually nothing against whatever the radical extreme jihadists (holy warriors for Islam) proclaim they will do. Most of Obama’s staff of advisors are well known to be pro-Arab, pro-Muslim, pacifists and various other profiles which indicate a tendency to do nothing, hoping that appeasement will halt the assault. The same would be true for Prime Minister Gordon Brown of England, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, among all the other countries of the European Union. As for the United Nations, no doubt they would vote that the attacks against the West were justified - that the West has behaved badly and “deserves” to be attacked.

What can we expect from sleeper Muslim terrorists now in the US, courtesy of the pro-Arab US State Department?

The following is a brief list of likely possibilities:

continues.

[I am surprised the movie for this true incident is not out, already...granny]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/11/19/pilot.breakdown.ap/index.html?eref=ib_topstories

updated 9:01 p.m. EST, Wed November 19, 2008

Report: Co-pilot had breakdown, flight attendant helped land jet

* Story Highlights
* In January, Air Canada co-pilot had to be forcibly removed from cockpit and sedated
* Report applauds flight attendant, who stepped into the co-pilot’s seat
* No one was injured as Boeing 767 made emergency landing in Ireland
* Report also praises pilot for clear thinking in having co-pilot removed

November 20, 2008 Anti-Terrorism News - UnitedStatesAction.com

(Iraq) US raid kills Iraqi blamed in 2004 reservist death — Hajji Hammadi
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/20/us-raid-kills-iraqi-blamed-in-2004-reservist-de-1/

Iraq steps up security on Iran border
http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnTRE4AJ4HB.html

(Afghanistan) Taliban Regains Power, Influence in Afghanistan
— Sets Up Courts, Local Governments in Southern Regions
— Gen. David McKiernan: “I do see the attempts in many areas by the Taliban to exert intimidation and exert control”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122713845685342447.html?mod=
-— McKiernan also wants a “political” solution in Afghanistan, supporting “reconciliation” negotiations with Taliban
http://www.unitedstatesaction.com/blog/imm-articles/109.html#McKiernan
-— see also: October 17, 2008 - Jihad and the “Reconciliation” with Islamic Supremacism
http://www.unitedstatesaction.com/blog/imm-articles/109.html

(Pakistan) NWFP: Pakistan protests over U.S. missile strikes - in Bannu
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081120/ts_nm/us_pakistan_nato_usa_4;_ylt=AkYk5m_AeAH.2beJFH9wNUoBS5Z4
— Pakistan protests US drone attacks, Taliban warns of reprisals
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081120/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanafghanistanunrestus_081120114231
— US ambassador summoned in Pakistan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081120/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_142

(Pakistan) NWFP: Girls school destroyed by militants
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.2723731839

(Pakistan) FATA: 24 militants killed in air and artillery strikes - in Bajaur
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1444058.php/Pakistan_24_militants_killed_in_air_and_artillery_strikes_

Pakistan supports ISAF after cross-border attack
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1954567&Language=en

(U.S.) Ft. Dix informant: “Nothing was fantasy”
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20081120_Ft__Dix_informant___quot_Nothing_was_fantasy_quot_.html
-— ‘Fantasy world’ suggestion emerges in Fort Dix trial
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20081120/NEWS01/811200382/-1/special27

(U.S.) Aafia Siddiqui: Prosecutor: No sign al-Qaida suspect was tortured
—— U.S. Attorney David Raskin “says the U.S. government hasn’t found a ‘shred of evidence’
that a Pakistani woman accused of trying to kill a U.S. soldier and FBI agents was abducted
or tortured in the five years before her arrest”
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9384114&nav=menu117_2
-— AP: “US ‘dark side’ raised in Pakistani scientist case”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081120/pl_afp/uspakistanafghanistanattacksjusticerights
-— September 2, 2008: Alleged Mata Hari of Al Qaeda Indicted: Could Provide ‘Treasure Trove’ of Intel
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5710043&page=1

U.S. Report Foresees Deadlier Terror Attacks - National Intelligence Council (NIC)
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20081119_7128.php

(U.S.) Intel panel foresees lesser U.S. role
-— “predictions come from the National Intelligence Council (NIC), part of Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell’s office”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/19/panel-foresees-lesser-us-role/

(U.S.) SC congressman: terror detainees have no place in Charleston — U.S. Rep. Henry Brown
http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9381082&nav=menu36_2

(India) ISI agent nabbed after 5 yrs — Abdul Kasem
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/ISI_agent_nabbed_after_5_yrs/articleshow/3734463.cms

Iran Produces Enough Uranium to Build Nuclear Weapon
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,455024,00.html
-— Iran said to have enough nuclear fuel for one weapon
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/20/africa/20nuke.php
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404789526&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Hamas gunman killed in Gaza explosion
— “IDF: Man was likely hit by Palestinian shell; Hamas, Gaza factions reportedly agree to uphold truce”
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404784596&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.2723789051

PA arrests over 250 Hamas terrorists
— “’Post’ learns US-trained battalion nabs terror suspects in Hebron; IDF “satisfied” with operation”
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404781590&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

(Yemen) 7 killed in Yemen clashes: official
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/20/2425630.htm?section=justin

Somalia’s prime minister defends government — Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein
-— “What role will Islamic law or Sharia play in the new constitution?”
-— Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein: “Sharia is very important in Somalia.
The Somali people are 100% Muslim and believe normal life is based on Sharia
So our constitution will be based on Sharia law. Any article in the constitution not in line with Sharia law will be null and void.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-somalia19-2008nov19,0,2030632.story

Somali pirates who hijacked supertanker Sirius Star ‘demand ransom of $25m’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/piracy/3488276/Somali-pirates-who-hijacked-supertanker-Sirius-Star-demand-ransom-of-25m.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5196008.ece

Mauritania hunts Qaeda despite post-coup aid halt
http://africa.reuters.com/energyandoil/news/usnLK598011.html

(Sudan/Netherlands) Int’l court prosecutor seeks Darfur rebels’ arrest
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/20/europe/EU-International-Court-Darfur.php

(Russia) Police officer shot dead in N. Caucasus republic
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081120/118423695.html

(Turkey) Seven killed in clashes in Turkey
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/242476,seven-killed-in-clashes-in-turkey.html

Spain says detained militant was top ETA leader
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/19/europe/EU-Spain-Basque-Militant.php

(Philippines) US says American troops attacked in Philippines - “from suspected Muslim militants”
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/20/asia/AS-Philippines-Abu-Sayyaf.php
— Arroyo cancels Sulu trip; US troops fired upon
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/134747/US-troops-in-RP-convoy-fired-upon-Arroyo-cancels-Sulu-trip

(Australia) Melbourne Jihad trial: Terror cell planned many deaths: court
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5159705/terror-cell-planned-many-deaths-court/

(Australia) Convicted Australian terror supporter speaks out - David Hicks
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200811/s2425056.htm?tab=latest

Sri Lanka says it captured key rebel defense line
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/20/asia/AS-Sri-Lanka-Civil-War.php

(Sri Lanka) Canada - Charity financing terrorism: Sri Lanka
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=974701

Other News:

(Sharia Finance) Bahrain Islamic eyes Asia for expansion
http://www.tradearabia.com/news/newsdetails.asp?Sn=BANK&artid=152711

Egypt minister: Niqab is not Islamic
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=28848

The OIC & the UN: Islamophobia and “defamation of religion”
http://www.worldevangelicals.org/news/view.htm?id=2203
-— International Islamic organization attempts to criminalize criticism of Islam at the UN
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023569.php
—— See also June 19, 2008 - Jihad Against Freedom of Speech at the United Nations
http://www.unitedstatesaction.com/blog/imm-articles/089.html
—— February 29, 2008 - Jihad, Islamism, and U.S. Envoy to OIC
http://www.unitedstatesaction.com/blog/imm-articles/077.html

(U.S.) CAIR: Zawahri Does Not Speak for Muslims
-— But unindicted co-conspirator CAIR wants to
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20081119/pl_usnw/cair__zawahri_does_not_speak_for_muslims
-— Background on history of support for Islamic supremacism within CAIR’s leadership
http://www.unitedstatesaction.com/blog/imm-articles/110.html#CAIR
-— IPT 10-part series on CAIR
http://www.investigativeproject.org/profile/172

(U.S.) Tampa Mayor proclaims “Unindicted Co-Conspirator in Hamas Funding Case Day”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023571.php
http://www.weaselzippers.net/blog/2008/11/tampa-mayor-proclaims-november-15th-2008-cair-day.html
— CAIR urges Muslims to define themselves
http://www.wmnf.org/news_stories/6387

(U.S.) Reports: Obama to Tap Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security Chief
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,455045,00.html

(U.S.) Texas: White supremacist indicted in attack on Jewish cellmate at Seagoville prison
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/crime/stories/111908dntxswprisonhatecrime.2869c84.html

(U.S.) Washington Post: “Many Groups Spied Upon In Md. Were Nonviolent”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/11/19/ST2008111900221.html

(UK) Family Law, Minorities and legal Pluralism: Should English Law give more Recognition to Islamic Law?
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/lawnews/showart.php?id=159
-— UK: Sharia Judge Argues in Favor of Polygamy in English Law.....
http://www.weaselzippers.net/blog/2008/11/uk-sharia-judge-argues-in-favor-of-polygamy-in-english-law.html

(UK) Mosque tutor accused of abusing girls
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Mosque-tutor-accused-of-abusing.4713494.jp

(UK) MI6 launches ethnic minority recruitment drive
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3487147/MI6-launches-ethnic-minority-recruitment-drive.html

Yemen ‘faces crisis as oil ends’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7739402.stm

Commentaries:

‘Stealth Jihad’ Reveals A New War on U.S. Soil by Rowan Scarborough
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=29570
http://www.amazon.com/Stealth-Jihad-Radical-Subverting-America/dp/1596985569/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227189255&sr=8-1

What can we expect from sleeper Muslim terrorists now in the US? by Emanuel A. Winston
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/8381

__._,_.___

If reposting elsewhere, please credit source of this research as UnitedStatesAction.com

[The airplane imans]

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=29545

Phoenix Imam Tells Muslims To Disregard U.S. Laws
by Robert
http://www.humanevents.com/search.php?author_name=Robert+Spencer
Spencer
(more by http://www.humanevents.com/search.php?author_name=Robert+Spencer
this author)
Posted 11/19/2008 ET
Updated 11/19/2008 ET

“A Muslim must try his best to abide by the rulings of Sharia [Islamic law]
whenever possible as much as he can. He should not allow himself to be
liable to those western laws that contradict the clear-cut Islamic rulings.”

continued

Resource of the Week: One of These Things Is Not Like the Others
By Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor

http://digbig.com/4xwrd

Regarding the public availability of Congressional Research Service
reports...maybe the situation will be different in the new
administration. Maybe these valuable, taxpayer-funded documents will
finally be posted online BY the Congressional Research Service AS THEY
ARE ISSUED. In our opinion, there is no logical reason for the hoop-
jumping necessary to pry these things loose from the CRS.

Granted, access is a lot better than it used to be, thanks to the
tireless efforts of various academic and nonprofit organizations to
corral as many of these reports as possible and make them freely
available online. The Center for Democracy and Technology’s OpenCRS,
for example, is a great place to start searching; not only is it a
huge archive of these reports, but it links to other key report
collections, such as:

* National Council for Science and the Environment

* Federation of American Scientists

* Thurgood Marshall Law Library/University of Maryland School of Law

* National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism

Archive-It.org, in partnership with the Social Sciences Resource Group
at Stanford University, links to a large number of CRS report
collections, including the venerable archive at the University of
North Texas Libraries. And the Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library at
the University of Washington School of Law offers an excellent CRS
pathfinder. If you can’t find the report online, you can always
request it from your congressional representative’s office. Or you can
buy it from a private company that obtains and sells them - which
annoys us so much that we won’t identify it or link to it here.

The sheer volume of government information now available online is
amazing, and has made life infinitely easier not only for researchers,
but for the average citizen. We have not yet heard a compelling reason
why the Congressional Research Service - a division of the Library of
Congress - remains a black hole. This Washington Post story, from
February 2007, blames ‘a wall erected by lawmakers’ who regard the
agency ‘as an extension of’ their own staff.

We’re not buying that excuse. Equivalent agencies in other countries
routinely place their reports online:

+ Parliament of Australia - Parliamentary Library Research Papers
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rp/index.htm

Large, searchable collection of reports, organized chronologically,
from 1993 forward. Also notable, a comprehensive page of links to all
Parliamentary Library publications.

+ Canada - Library of Parliament Research Publications
http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/library_prb.asp?Language=E

The Parliamentary Information and Research Service (PIRS) provides
a consulting service for individual parliamentarians, responding
to questions that require research and analysis on legal,
economic, scientific, or social science matters. Researchers
obtain and analyze material, and write letters, short notes and
longer research papers at the request of Senators and Members of
the House of Commons. In some cases, responses are provided to
clients by telephone briefings or by meetings with individual
parliamentarians and/or their staff.

Awesome collection here, organized by category, from Aboriginal Issues
to Transport.

+ New Zealand Parliamentary Library Research Publications
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PubRes/Research/

* Research papers

Research papers from the Parliamentary Library are published
here. Research papers cover a variety of topical subjects of
relevance to Parliament.

* Bills Digests

A Bills Digest is a guide written to assist members of
Parliament when they consider a bill. Bills Digests are
published here in pdf form.

* Electorate profiles

Electorate profiles for each of the seven Maori electorates
and 63 general electorates in New Zealand are published
here. Electorate profiles are produced by the Parliamentary
Library. Each profile includes election results, statistics
about people, households and industries, and maps.

+ UK Parliament - Research offers:
http://www.parliament.uk/publications/research.cfm

* Commons Library Research Papers

Research papers on subjects of current interest, compiled
for MPs by the staff of the House of Commons Library.

* Commons Library Standard Notes

Standard notes are topical briefings prepared by the House
of Commons Library for Members of Parliament and which may
be of wider interest.

* Lords Library Notes

Research notes on subjects of current interest, compiled for
Lords by the staff of the House of Lords Library.

* Parliament and Constitution Research

A selection of research papers and standard notes produced
by the House of Commons Library on subjects such as: central
government, constitution, Crown, devolution, elections,
Parliament, and political parties.

* Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology

Short briefing notes and longer reports on science and
technology issues published by POST.

http://digbig.com/4xwrd

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Off the Shelf: Featured posts from ResourceShelf Visit ResourceShelf
now: http://www.resourceshelf.com or click a link to view the
entire post:

Obama Appoints Castro’s Lawyer as White House
Counsel

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/11/obama_appoints_castros_lawyer.html

*By* *Humberto Fontova*
http://www.americanthinker.com/humberto_fontova/

Among the throng of Clinton regime retreads recruited for the Obama
administration we find Gregory Craig. Craig served as Obama’s advisor on
Latin American during the campaign, and was appointed last week as chief
White House Counsel.

The MSM has mentioned Craig’s role as Bill Clinton’s impeachment lawyer, but
mostly has omitted mention of Craig’s role as chief facilitator for Fidel
Castro’s shanghaiing of Elian Gonzalez.

continued, read it and weep, then get real mad.

[Who did he work for?]

http://washingtondc.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel08/wfo112008.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2008 (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888

FORMER CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT PLEADS GUILTY TO FAILING TO REPORT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS

IN ILLEGAL GIFTS FROM LOBBYISTS

WASHINGTON – Trevor L. Blackann, 34, a former legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate, pleaded guilty today to making a false statement on his 2003 tax returns by failing to report as income thousands of dollars in illegal gifts that he received from lobbyists, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division announced. Blackann pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts in the District of Columbia.

According to court documents, Blackann was employed throughout 2003 as a legislative assistant for a member of the U.S. Senate. Blackann was responsible for advising and counseling the Senator on matters of legislative interest and representing the Senator in communications with other congressional offices and staff, officials in the executive branch and members of the public.

During his plea, Blackann admitted that he received things of value worth thousands of dollars from three lobbyists in 2003, including a free trip to attend the first game of the 2003 baseball World Series. According to court documents, the World Series trip included airline travel to and from New York City, transportation around New York City in a chauffeured sport utility vehicle, a ticket to game one of the World Series, a souvenir baseball jersey, admission to and entertainment at a gentlemen’s club following the game, and free meals and drinks.

In his plea, Blackann admitted knowing that the World Series trip and other tickets, meals and drinks provided by the lobbyists were given to him for, or because of, official action the lobbyists were seeking from Blackann. Blackann also admitted understanding that he had a duty to report the value of things he received from lobbyists as income on his 2003 U.S. income tax return.

The case is part of the ongoing investigation into the lobbying activities of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates. Fifteen individuals, including lobbyists and public officials, have pleaded guilty or are awaiting trial as a result of the investigation, including Abramoff who was sentenced in September 2008 to 48 months in prison.

This case is being prosecuted by trial attorneys M. Kendall Day and Peter C. Sprung of the Public Integrity Section, headed by Section Chief William M. Welch II. The investigation is being conducted by the FBI, with assistance from Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.

http://washingtondc.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel08/wfo111408.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2008 (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888

FORMER DoD OFFICIAL SENTENCED FOR MAKING A FALSE STATEMENT

WASHINGTON – A former employee of the Defense Logistics Agency, an agency within the Department of Defense (DoD), was sentenced today to two years of probation for committing one count of making a false statement, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division announced. Constance Walton, 55, of Mitchellville, Md., also was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

According to court documents, Walton failed to disclose to the DoD that she received income from a company that she owned. Walton started the company to receive work assignments from contractors of the U.S. Department of the Army Information Technology Agency where her associate, Robert Johnson, worked. Between 2000 and 2006, Walton received more than $100,000 from the contractors.

On June 27, 2006, in the Eastern District of Virginia, Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for using his official position to obtain more than $150,000 from the Army. Johnson committed this fraud by directing two prime contractors to subcontract with two companies in which Johnson secretly held a financial interest, one of which was Walton’s company. Johnson also falsely certified that the prime contractors and their subcontractors provided services to the government when, in fact, such services were not provided. On Sept. 29, 2006, District Court Judge James C. Cacheris sentenced Johnson to 24 months in prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Ann C. Brickley of the Public Integrity Section, headed by Section Chief William M. Welch II. The case is being investigated by Army Criminal Investigation Division, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the General Services Administration and the FBI. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia assisted in Johnson’s prosecution.

http://washingtondc.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel08/wfo111808.htm

U.S. Department of Justice

Jeffrey A. Taylor

United States Attorney

for the District of Columbia

Judiciary Center

555 4th Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20530

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

For Information, Contact Public Affairs

Channing Phillips (202) 514-6933

PRESS RELEASE

Virginia Attorney Indicted by Federal Grand Jury in
Connection with a Large-Scale Immigration Fraud Investigation

WASHINGTON - Michael Mitry Hadeed, Jr., an attorney who practices law in Northern Virginia, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia in connection with an ongoing investigation of a large-scale immigration fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Washington Field Office, and Mark X. McGraw, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Washington Field Division, announced today.

The four-count Indictment returned this afternoon charged Michael Mitry Hadeed, Jr., 50, with conspiring to commit immigration fraud, committing immigration fraud, and making false statements to a number of federal agencies, including the Department of Labor, the Department of State, and the Department of Homeland Security. The investigation was initiated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and worked jointly with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

According to the indictment, beginning in 1999 and continuing through at least May 2005, the defendant filed fraudulent employment-based immigration documents on behalf of foreign nationals and aliens already in the United States seeking work authorization and permanent residency in the United States. The indictment details how the defendant used the King of Pita Bakery in Alexandria, Virginia, to sponsor foreign nationals and aliens for either no-show jobs or jobs for which they were employed but not qualified. To support these immigration documents, the indictment alleges that the defendants created documents making false claims about the aliens’ work experience and offers of employment.

If convicted of the charges, Hadeed faces up to: five years on the conspiracy charge; eight years on the false statement charge; and ten years on the two immigration charges. He is scheduled to be arraigned on December 5, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The case has been assigned to the Honorable Leonie M. Brinkema.

In announcing today’s indictment, U.S. Attorney Taylor, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Persichini, and ICE Special Agent in Charge McGraw praised FBI Special Agent Bryan C. Gaines, ICE Special Agent Raymond S. Orzel, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Asuncion, who is handling the prosecution.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.

[October, but interesting charges]

http://washingtondc.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel08/wfo100908.htm

U.S. Department of Justice

Jeffrey A. Taylor

United States Attorney

for the District of Columbia

Judiciary Center

555 4th Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20530

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, October 9, 2008

For Information, Contact Public Affairs

Channing Phillips (202) 514-6933

PRESS RELEASE

Two Colombians Arraigned in Washington, D.C. on Terrorism and Drug Charges

WASHINGTON – Two Colombian citizens who were extradited from the Republic of Colombia earlier this week have made their initial appearances in federal court in Washington, D.C., on terrorism and drug charges related to their alleged involvement with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), a designated foreign terrorist organization in Colombia.

Jose Maria Corredor-Ibague, 42, a/k/a “Boyaco,” and Carolina Yanave-Rojas, 34, a/k/a “Edilma Morales Loaiza,” a/k/a “La Negra,” were arraigned late yesterday in federal court in the District of Columbia after being extradited to the United States on Tuesday. Both are scheduled to have a detention hearing tomorrow at 1:30 pm before U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler.

The defendants face charges contained in two separate indictments returned in the District of Columbia.

An Oct. 26, 2006 indictment charges Corredor-Ibague with one count of engaging in drug trafficking with the intent to provide something of pecuniary value to a terrorist organization, or narco-terrorism. Corredor-Ibague was the first person in the nation to be indicted under this narco-terrorism statute, which became law in March 2006. Corredor-Ibague is also charged in the indictment with one count of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, with the intent to import the cocaine into the United States. If convicted of both counts, Corredor-Ibague faces a sentence ranging from a mandatory minimum of 20 years to a maximum of life imprisonment.

Among other things, Corredor-Ibague is alleged to have controlled clandestine airstrips in the jungles of Southern Colombia. From Corredor-Ibague’s airstrips, small aircraft flew out multi-hundred kilogram quantities of cocaine which were destined for the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Europe. Corredor-Ibague allegedly organized these shipments, manufactured and sold the cocaine, and charged a tax on the cocaine shipments that was paid to the FARC. In addition, incoming flights brought small arms weaponry which was used by the FARC to supply its armed forces.

Yanave-Rojas is charged in the same October 2006 indictment with one-count of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, with the intent to import the cocaine into the United States. If convicted, she faces a sentence ranging from a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life imprisonment.

A second indictment, returned on Nov. 30, 2006, charges both Corredor-Ibague and Yanave-Rojas with three counts: conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization; providing material support or resources to a terrorist organization; and aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done.

Specifically, this indictment alleges that between 2002 and 2006, Corredor-Ibague and Yanave-Rojas were involved in a conspiracy to deliver from Colombia cocaine that was produced and controlled by the FARC to neighboring countries, for delivery to the United States. In exchange, the defendants allegedly provided the FARC with AK-47 and AR-15 assault-type weapons, ammunition, foreign currency, and sophisticated communications equipment, including satellite phones and SIM cards, originating from the United States.

If convicted of the three counts in this indictment, Corredor-Ibague and Yanave-Rojas each face a maximum possible sentence of 15 years imprisonment.

Corredor-Ibague and Yanave-Rojas were arrested by Colombian authorities on Oct. 15, 2006. In December 2006, the United States filed a formal request with the Republic of Colombia seeking their extradition on the charges contained in the two indictments. The extradition request was subsequently granted by the Colombian Supreme Court, and then by the Colombian Ministry of Justice and by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

The extradition of the defendants earlier this week was achieved through the efforts of attorneys from the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the Judicial Attaches in the United States Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, and multiple U.S. federal law enforcement agencies.

The investigation that resulted in the October 2006 indictment was led by the Bilateral Case Group of the Special Operations Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This indictment will be prosecuted by attorneys from the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

The investigation that resulted in the November 2006 indictment was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Miami Field Office, the Pentagon’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southeast Field Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Miami Field Office. This indictment will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and trial attorneys from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

The public is reminded that an indictment is merely a formal charging document notifying a defendant of the charges against him or her. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htintel/articles/20081120.aspx

China Stealing Space Rocket Technology

November 20, 2008: A Chinese-American scientist pled guilty to providing China with U.S. rocket technology. Quan-Sheng Shu, a 68 year old naturalized citizen who was born in China, was president of AMAC International Inc., a technology company with offices in the United States and China. Shu bribed Chinese officials to award a $4 million contract, for rocket technology, to his company. Shu was attempting to export technology to China without the required permits (that he knew he would not get.) Shu could receive up to ten years in jail, plus millions of dollars in fines. But he has a plea bargain agreement which prevented his wife from being prosecuted for her part in the transaction. The plea deal will probably get Shu a shorter jail term.

The Shu case is another example of the Chinese effort to use industrial espionage to turn their country into the mightiest industrial and military power on the planet. For over two decades, China has been attempting to do what the Soviet Union never accomplished; steal Western technology, then use it to move ahead of the West. The Soviets lacked the many essential supporting industries found in the West (most founded and run by entrepreneurs), and was never able to get all the many pieces needed to match Western technical accomplishments. Soviet copies of American computers, for example, were crude, less reliable and less powerful. Same with their jet fighters, tanks and warships.

China believes they can avoid the Soviet error by making it profitable for Western firms to set up factories in China, where Chinese managers and workers can be taught how to make things right. At the same time. China allows thousands of their best students to go to the United States to study. While most of these students will stay in America, where there are better jobs and more opportunities, some will come back to China, and bring American business and technical skills with them. Finally, China energetically uses the “thousand grains of sand” approach to espionage. This involves China trying to get all Chinese going overseas, and those of Chinese ancestry living outside the motherland, to spy for China, if only a tiny bit.

This approach to espionage is nothing new. Other nations have used similar systems for centuries. What is unusual is the scale of the Chinese effort. Backing it all up is a Chinese intelligence bureaucracy back home that is huge, with nearly 100,000 people working just to keep track of the many Chinese overseas, and what they could, or should, be to trying to grab for the motherland. It begins when Chinese intelligence officials examining who is going overseas, and for what purpose. Chinese citizens cannot leave the country, legally, without the state security organizations being notified. The intel people are not being asked to give permission. They are being alerted in case they want to have a talk with students, tourists or business people before they leave the country. Interviews are often held when these people come back as well.

Those who might be coming in contact with useful information are asked to remember what they saw, or bring back souvenirs. Over 100,000 Chinese students go off to foreign universities each year. Even more go abroad as tourists or on business. Most of these people were not asked to actually act as spies, but simply to share, with Chinese government officials (who are not always identified as intelligence personnel) whatever information they obtained. The more ambitious of these people are getting caught and prosecuted. But the majority, who are quite casual, and, individually, bring back relatively little, are almost impossible to catch.

Like the Russians, the Chinese are also using the traditional methods, using people with diplomatic immunity to recruit spies, and offering cash, or whatever, to get people to sell them information. This is still effective, and when combined with the “thousand grains of sand” methods, brings in lots of secrets. The final ingredient is a shadowy venture capital operations, sometimes called Project 863, that offers money for Chinese entrepreneurs who will turn the stolen technology into something real. No questions asked. If you can get back to China with the secrets, you are home free and potentially very rich.

Shu was just trying to do some business, but he was also ensnared by this enormous Chinese espionage operation that has had far more successes than failures.

http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/colombi/articles/20081119.aspx

Leftist Rebels Hire Spanish Mercenaries

November 19, 2008: Several collapsed banks, that thrived on a pyramid scheme (offering over 100 percent interest on deposits) that bilked several hundred thousand people, mainly in the southwest, has led to a week of street protests, and revelations that the scammers were involved in handling drug money as well. The government has dispatched more troops and bank examiners to the region to restore order.

November 17, 2008: Over the last eight years, the $6 billion the U.S. put into Plan Colombia did not, as hoped, cut cocaine production in half. There’s actually fifteen percent more coca acreage, and the four percent more cocaine being produced. Increased acreage is the result of the government regaining control over a third of the country that was previously “bandit country” (and dominated by leftist rebels like FARC, and their drug gang allies.) Seizures of cocaine are up, as is the price in the U.S. and Europe, where most of it is exported to. The leftist rebels have lost more than half their strength, and armed men serving the drug gangs have gone from over 60,000 to less than 30,000. The Colombian security forces accomplished this by improving training and leadership, and expanding from 279,000 personnel, to 415,000. Crime rates are way down, and economic activity has rebounded. The main problem with Plan Colombia was that it expected too much success too soon. But it has succeeded, and continues to. Already, the drug gangs are moving their operations to other countries, like Venezuela, Ecuador and Brazil.

November 14, 2008: Spain has issued international arrest warrants for five Basque ETA terrorists, who are believed to have fled to Cuba and Venezuela. The Spanish authorities believe some of these men have helped train FARC assassins, and advised FARC leaders on how to cope with counter-terrorism operations. ETA was also accused of helping FARC establish a death squad in Europe, which would kill Colombian diplomats and other officials who were visiting Europe (where security would be less stringent than back in Colombia. ETA was also apparently asked to provide mercenaries to assist these FARC death squads.

November 11, 2008: Venezuela is building five military bases along the Colombian border, to deal with the growing incursions by drug gangs and leftist rebels like FARC. These groups bring with them more crime, especially kidnapping, and Venezuelans along the border have been demanding some help. FARC is fleeing Colombia, to escape increased military, police and financial pressure.

November 10, 2008: Colombia and Mexico are cooperating in their efforts to destroy the cocaine trade. Much of the cocaine headed for the U.S. passes through Mexico, and that has produced drug gangs that kill lots of local police and bribe many government officials. The Mexican government has called out the army, in the last year, to battle the growing drug gang menace. This has led to thousands of deaths. Colombia and Mexico are exchanging information on their gangs, the better to identify key people to go after.

November 6, 2008: Ecuador demanded that Colombia do something about a new Colombian drug gang, the Aguilas Negras “Black Eagles.” The group recently sent twenty armed men 45 kilometers into Ecuador to kill someone. Because the Black Eagles contain many members of the disbanded AUC (an anti-FARC drug gang), Ecuador assumes the Black Eagles cooperate with the Colombian Army (as the AUC sometimes did). But in Colombia, the “Black Eagles” are just considered another drug gang.

http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/mexico/articles/20081120.aspx

Trolling For Tips About Traitors

November 20, 2008: The governments Cartel War began in late December 2006. At the two year point the pessimists point to scores of murders committed each week and the discovery of new arms caches near the US-Mexico border. President Calderon seems more determined than ever to continue the war. He thinks it’s a war that was already on, and all he did was commit the Mexican government to winning it. For several reasons, Calderon has given the Mexican Army a primary role in the war. One is that the Mexican military is a national organization that for the most part enjoys the trust of the Mexican people. That isn’t the case with the Mexican police and judiciary. Another reason is the weapons used by the cartel’s gunmen. Rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifles, and light machine guns gave the gunmen a firepower edge. The cartels had stockpiled a lot of weapons and ammo. The government recently reported that in the period from December 1, 2006 to October 30, 2008, military and police forces have seized 25,657 guns. The figure includes “13,807 assault and other rifles.” The security forces also found 1,642 grenades and 2.4 million rounds of ammunition.

November 18, 2008: The bloodbath in Tijuana continues. Government officials reported that fourteen people were killed in “gang violence” over the three day period from November 15 through November 17. An assault rifle was used in one shootout between gunmen. Between January 1 and mid-November, over 650 people have been murdered in Baja California. Local officials in Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua state, across the border from El Paso) estimate that over 1300 people have been murdered in their city and its immediate environs. The national total is “over 4000.” That may be a low figure. The Mexico City newspaper El Universal estimates the national figure is over 4,500. And remember – that figure is a best guess.

November 13, 2008: Kidnappings in Mexico continue to increase. The government estimates that 65 kidnappings occur each month. This is an increase of almost ten percent over 2007. One media group says that “at least three people a day” are kidnapped?which would mean 90 a month.

November 12, 2008: President Felipe Calderon knows he has a soul mate in Colombia’s president, Alvaro Uribe. Recently Calderon and Uribe met to discuss their war on drug cartels. Colombia went through a decade of violent internal conflict, with daily murders and crime committed by both criminals and guerrilla groups. Since Uribe began a national counter-attack in 2002, the situation has improved, but it has been a tough fight. Uribe told Calderon that Colombia’s monetary reward program for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of drug lords had proved to be a key to improving police intelligence.

The government approved a $260 billion budget. The budget will have a “30 percent increase in security spending” to fight the Cartel War.

November 7, 2008: Federal police arrested a senior member of the Gulf drug cartel, Jaime Gonzalez. The police trapped Gonzalez in the city of Reynosa (on the US-Texas border). The police said a group of cartel gunmen tried to attack a military convoy. Gonzalez is a member of the Gulf cartel’s paramilitary organization, the Zetas. Also found in the town was the “largest weapons cache” in recent history. The police seized approximately 280 assault rifles, 130 other weapon, 287 grenades, six heavy machine guns, an anti-tank weapon (rocket launcher of some type) and 500,000 rounds of ammunition.

November 5, 2008: A recent US State Department study (covering July 1, 2005 to June 30th, 2008) reported that more ordinary US citizens were killed in Mexico during that period than in any foreign country. Deaths in Mexico accounted for 29 percent of Americans killed abroad (a total of 637).

November 4. 2008: The interior minister and a dozen other people were killed when the minister’s Learjet crashed in Mexico City. Nine people were on board the aircraft. At least four more people were killed when the plane hit the Mexico City neighborhood. Another 40 people were injured. Juan Camilo Mourino was a political ally and close adviser of President Calderon and played a key role in directing The Cartel War.

November 2, 2008: Police arrested Antonio Galarza, a senior leader in the Gulf drug cartel. The arrest took place in Monterrey.

The acting Federal police commissioner, Victor Gerardo Garay, resigned after one of his more senior aides was accused of working for a drug cartel. The aide allegedly provided the Sinaloa cartel protection from police interference, specifically in the transshipment of drugs through Mexico City’s major airport.

October 28, 2008: The Chamber of Deputies overwhelmingly passed a series of constitutional reforms that will make it easier for foreigners to invest in Mexico’s oil industry. President Calderon had made investment reform a major economic goal. Mexico is particularly interested in investors who will help finance more off-shore drilling. The Cartel War also has an economic angle. The violence is jeopardizing investment in Mexico. The Finance Ministry estimates that the “deteriorating security” situation in Mexico reduces the gross domestic product about one percent annually. Mexico’s 2007 GDP was around $850 billion.

Government prosecutors have charged an Interpol agent working in the US embassy in Mexico City with providing the Beltran-Leyva drug cartel with “information about anti-narcotics operations.” (The Beltran-Leyva cartel is a “spin off” operation” from the Sinaloa cartel.) The government also recently charged five government security officials (two members of the Attorney General’s office and three senior policemen) with warning drug cartels about impending anti-drug operations. This is bad news and also good news. Corrupt officials have been selling information to the cartels –that’s bad— but they are also getting caught. Why? Senior security officials believe they are getting better information. Recent military-led operations in northern Mexico have “put pressure on the cartels.” A pay-off is that locals feel secure enough to provide intelligence officers with quality intelligence. Intelligence then slowly “tracks back.” Sometimes the info leads nowhere. Sometimes it leads to corrupt senior officials. That may or may not have happened in this specific instance, but that is the process.

http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/israel/articles/20081119.aspx

Killer Cash Curbed

November 19, 2008: Persian Gulf states are sharply reducing their cash contributions to Hamas. This is a reaction to the inability of Hamas to control all the radical groups in Gaza, as well as the failure of peace talks with Israel. In addition, Israel has sorted out how Hamas was getting cash to its followers in the West Bank, and has disrupted that as well. The reduction, by as much as half, in cash from the Persian Gulf Arabs, has meant less money for Hamas followers in Gaza, and more displeasure with the radical organization. Once more, many Palestinians are questioning the wisdom of being at war with Israel all the time. The Israelis always seem to win, even if the Palestinians get in some hits from time to time.

In the last two weeks, Gaza based terrorists have fired nearly 180 mortar shells and rockets into Israel, putting the five month ceasefire in danger. No Israelis have been killed, but 17 Palestinian terrorists have died. Egypt, which brokered the six month ceasefire, has told Israel that Hamas is still committed to the ceasefire, but cannot control all the terrorists in Gaza. Israel does not believe that, and now threatens to go after Hamas leaders if the attacks continue. The supply blockade continues as well, with Israel telling the UN and Europeans to turn their efforts to the Palestinians, in order to halt the terrorist violence against Israel. If the Gaza Palestinians get hungry, they can take out their anger at the local terrorists.

Counter-terror operations continue in the West Bank, where pro-Fatah Palestinians have helpful in tracking down pro-Hamas terrorists. Dozens of arrests a week are being made.

November 18, 2008: Three Kassam rockets were fired from Gaza. Israeli ground forces entered Gaza, along the coast in the north, in a search for terrorist bombs.

November 17, 2008: Two Kassam rockets were fired from Gaza.

November 16, 2008: Israeli aircraft spotted and fired on a Hamas mortar crew in Gaza, as the Palestinians were firing into Israel. The four man mortar crew was killed. Two Kassam rockets were fired from Gaza, and six Israeli civilians were wounded.

November 15, 2008: UN and European diplomats are furious at Israel for cutting off the movement of goods into Gaza. While the UN and Europeans demand that the Palestinians stop firing rockets and mortar shells out of Gaza, they consider Israel the bigger villain for trying to protect themselves by using economic pressure on the Palestinians.

November 14, 2008: Israeli Cyber War troops again hacked into the cell phone networks in Gaza, and sent a message offering a $10,000 reward for anyone who could provide information that led to the rescue of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Hamas is demanding that 1,500 imprisoned Palestinian terrorists be released in exchange for Shalit. The Israelis believe that letting that many known terrorists loose will result in dozens of dead Israelis, and are trying to convince Hamas to accept a few hundred, less lethal, terrorists in exchange for Shalit (who has been held for two years now)

Hamas fired five 122mm factory made rockets at the Israeli town of Ashkelon. These 122mm BM-21 rockets weigh 150 pounds and are nine feet long. These have 45 pound warheads, and have a maximum range of 20 kilometers. Because they are unguided, they are only reliably effective if fired in salvos, or at large targets (like cities, or large military bases or industrial complexes.) Hamas has been getting these rockets from Iran, and they are smuggled in via the dozens of tunnels under the Gaza-Egyptian border. At the same time, about eight Kassam rockets were fired, and these injured several Israeli civilians.

November 13, 2008: In response to the Palestinian ceasefire violations, Israel closed the Gaza crossings again. Most Palestinians in Gaza depend on charity (food and medical aid, mostly from Western countries) and cash (contributed largely by Gulf Arab nations, to pay the Fatah and Hamas employees, including the terrorists) to get by. Palestinians in Gaza fired more rockets into Israel today.

November 12, 2008: A Kassam rocket was fired from Gaza, but it caused no damage or injuries. Israeli troops caught four Palestinians trying to plant a bomb along the Gaza border fence (as part of an ambush attempt against Israeli patrols). The four Palestinians tried to escape, but Israeli troops pursued them into Gaza. In response, Hamas fired mortars into Israel, and the fire was returned.

November 11, 2008: All was quiet in Gaza, with no rockets fired at Israel.

http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/topten/articles/20081117.aspx

Wars That Matter, That You Hardly Ever Hear About

November 17, 2008: Many critical military events never get much publicity. Sometimes it’s because they involve espionage; often it’s because, well, the media never really gets interested. Here are ten (in alphabetical order) you should at least be aware of:

1. Anti-Terrorism Operations. Oh, sure, you hear about this in the news, but never in detail. And it’s the details that make or break these efforts. A lot of the effort is plain old detective work - a lot of stakeouts, many interviews with suspects, or their friends, family or neighbors. Even more underground are the electronic operations (bugging terrorist e-mail, phone calls) and crypto (breaking secret codes used on phone calls and e-mail.) All this work is very expensive, and if the FBI, CIA, NSA, etc. decide to shift their resources elsewhere, you won’t see it in the news. You will see, months down the line, an increase in successful terrorist attacks.

2. Bureaucrats vs. the Troops. Increasing government regulation, which long avoided the military, now goes after the troops as well. Environmental regulations limit training. Equal opportunity rules have brought calls to allow the disabled to join the military. Lawyers strive for the right to sue the armed forces for real or imagined injuries. Some armed forces have been allowed to unionize. The bureaucrats know little of how the military operates, so they charge ahead with the best of intentions, and often disastrous results. In many countries, the military is little more than a bunch of poorly trained civil servants with guns.

3. Jointness Games. Sailors the world over have more in common with each other than they do with soldiers in their own country. Most nations just accept the fact that their army, air force and navy don’t get along much. But in the United States there has developed a minor religion called “Jointness.” The American military takes war seriously, so much so that they acknowledge the need for real cooperation between the three services. Making this cooperation a reality is another matter. You don’t hear much about jointness, which is just as well. It’s more of an ideal than a reality. But efforts are being made, and their success or failure will be known the next time there’s a war.

4. Media Wars. Most of us know what putting “spin” on a story means. What we don’t know is how much of this goes on all over the world, and then filters back to us as “news.” All the two or three dozen wars going on at the moment have layers of media spin and distortion surrounding them. This makes it hard to find out exactly what’s going on. The situation has become more complex in the last decade with the growing use of spin by NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations like the Red Cross, UN and Oxfam). This has a big impact on how wars are reported, or misreported. At least now you know your being spoofed.

5. Military Pork Barrel. Most of the $1.3 trillion spent each year on defense worldwide comes with political strings attached. For obvious reasons, politicians like to keep quiet the political horse-trading that goes on when the defense budget is carved up. For good reason, as “defense” generally takes second place to “how can this help me get reelected, rich, or both.” The battles over military pork largely take place in the shadows. But the outcomes of these conflicts eventually have an impact, usually catastrophic, on the battlefield.

6. Resurrecting the Red Army. Many Russian officers, young as well as older Soviet era men, are keen to make the Russian armed forces mighty once again, as they were in the days of the Soviet Union’s Red Army. The air force still uses the red star on their aircraft. The glory days of the Red Army are honored and hailed as a force to be emulated. At the moment, the money isn’t there to rebuild the Russian armed forces. But the desire is there, and will probably remain strong for some time to come.

7. The Bug Race. Information warfare, centered on the Internet, is, more than anything else, a battle to find and patch (for the good guys) or exploit (for the bad guys) flaws in the enormous amount of computer software that runs the net. Much of this software is “open source” (the original instruction, in plain text) and available to anyone. The black hat hackers pore over this code looking for flaws. If they find a bug before the white hat (good guy) hackers, mischief, damage or major crimes will result. There’s no magic involved. In fact, the major source of serious net crime remains insiders going over to the dark side. But for anyone else, it’s a matter of who gets to the bugs first.

8. The People’s Liberation Army, Inc. Since the 1950s, China’s armed forces (the People’s Liberation Army) have fought a losing battle against corruption. Some of it has been outright theft, most of it was diversion of military resources for commercial gain (by senior officers). The government ordered the generals to get rid of all their businesses a decade ago. The generals have gone through the motions of complying, but the struggle continues over exactly where the money goes. This hurts the ability of the Chinese military to fight, but this is never discussed in China, for obvious reasons.

9. Tribal Warfare. Many of the smaller wars, and some of the large ones, are basically tribal conflicts. It’s not politically correct to dwell on this aspect of global disorder. But until we do, these wars won’t go away.

10. Who’s Ready for What? The size of armed forces usually is reported in terms of quantity, not quality. This is odd, since most wars are decided by the quality of the troops, not how many of them there are. “Readiness” is the term most often used to describe this and you rarely get a straight answer when looking for the readiness of any armed forces. But it’s how much readiness a forces has, not how many troops or weapons, that says it all regarding fighting power.

Stolen ATM found
Somerville News - Somerville,MA,USA
The ATM machine was still in the rear of a stolen Budget Rental box truck.
The stolen truck with Oklahoma plate number 2HR155 was called into Pat’s
Towing ...
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Cyber Security Tip ST06-005
Dealing with Cyberbullies

Bullies are now taking advantage of technology to intimidate and harass
their victims. Dealing with cyberbullying can be difficult, but there are
steps you can take.

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying refers to the new, and growing, practice of using technology
to harass, or bully, someone else. Bullies used to be restricted to methods
such as physical intimidation, postal mail, or the telephone. Now,
developments in electronic media offer forums such as email, instant
messaging, web pages, and digital photos to add to the arsenal. Computers,
cell phones, and PDAs are new tools that can be applied to an old practice.

Forms of cyberbullying can range in severity from cruel or embarrassing
rumors to threats, harassment, or stalking. It can affect any age group;
however, teenagers and young adults are common victims, and cyberbullying is
a growing problem in schools.

Why has cyberbullying become such a problem?

The relative anonymity of the internet is appealing for bullies because it
enhances the intimidation and makes tracing the activity more difficult.
Some bullies also find it easier to be more vicious because there is no
personal contact. Unfortunately, the internet and email can also increase
the visibility of the activity. Information or pictures posted online or
forwarded in mass emails can reach a larger audience faster than more
traditional methods, causing more damage to the victims. And because of the
amount of personal information available online, bullies may be able to
arbitrarily choose their victims.

Cyberbullying may also indicate a tendency toward more serious behavior.
While bullying has always been an unfortunate reality, most bullies grow out
of it. Cyberbullying has not existed long enough to have solid research, but
there is evidence that it may be an early warning for more violent behavior.

How can you protect yourself?

* Be careful where you post personal information - By limiting the number
of people who have access to your contact information or details about
your interests, habits, or employment, you reduce your exposure to
bullies that you do not know. This may limit your risk of becoming a
victim and may make it easier to identify the bully if you are
victimized.
* Avoid escalating the situation - Responding with hostility is likely to
provoke a bully and escalate the situation. Depending on the
circumstances, consider ignoring the issue. Often, bullies thrive on the
reaction of their victims. Other options include subtle actions. For
example, if you are receiving unwanted email messages, consider changing
your email address. If the bully does not have access to the new
address, the problem may stop. If you continue to get messages at your
new account, you may have a stronger case for legal action.
* Document the activity - Keep a record of any online activity (emails,
web pages, instant messages, etc.), including relevant dates and times.
In addition to archiving an electronic version, consider printing a
copy.
* Report cyberbullying to the appropriate authorities - If you are being
harassed or threatened, report the activity to the local authorities.
Law enforcement agencies have different policies, but your local police
department or FBI branch are good starting points. Unfortunately, there
is a distinction between free speech and punishable offenses, but the
legal implications should be decided by the law enforcement officials
and the prosecutors. Depending on the activity, it may also be
appropriate to report it to school officials who may have separate
policies for dealing with activity that involves students.

Protect your children by teaching them good online habits (see Keeping
Children Safe Online for more information). Keep lines of communication open
with your children so that they feel comfortable telling you if they are
being victimized online. Reduce their risk of becoming cyberbullies by
setting guidelines for and monitoring their use of the internet and other
electronic media (cell phones, PDAs, etc.).
_________________________________________________________________

Author: Mindi McDowell
_________________________________________________________________

Produced 2006 by US-CERT, a government organization.

Note: This tip was previously published and is being re-distributed
to increase awareness.

Terms of use

http://www.us-cert.gov/legal.html

This document can also be found at

http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST06-005.html