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Editor's note: Readers may be interested in two related stories: "Invested in Terrorism" and "BBC: U.S. Damned if it does and damned if it doesn't". -ALJ Douglas Farah uncovered the story of al-Qaeda's involvement in West Africa's diamond smuggling while reporting on Africa for the Washington Post, which he described in Blood from Stones: The Secret Financial Network of Terror (New York: Broadway, 2004). Mr. Farah, now a consultant, freelance writer on terror finance and national security matters, and a senior fellow at the Consortium for the Study of Intelligence, addressed the Middle East Forum in New York City on...

S Africans 'armed to the hilt' South Africans own more guns than the police and army South African civilians own more guns than the police and military combined, according to a study by Gun Free South Africa and Cape Town University. Some 8.4% of the population own a gun, which amounts to 3.7 million firearms, the researchers found. In the region, on average 2.27% of the population own guns, while Mozambique has a rate of 0.04%, the study says. South Africa has one of the world's highest incidences of gun-related crime which has led to new fire arm laws. Apartheid...

NEW YORK (AFP) - New York authorities are turning central Manhattan into an armed security fortress for the four-day Republican National Convention that opens next Monday to nominate President George W. Bush (news - web sites) for a second four-year term. "The city and the state as well as many agencies and thousands of individuals have come together in partnership to provide an unprecedented, comprehensive level of security to protect this great city and the convention," said US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. Ridge's declaration of both the Republican convention, and the Democratic convention held in Boston last month --...

This is long overdue for me. A tribute to our armed forces. Thank you, all. I do not consider your sacrifices in vain. The American Flame

Memories of 2000 energize Dem organizers By Ron Fournier, AP Political Writer April 27, 2004 ST. LOUIS -- Armed with Palm Pilots and a $95 million budget, Democratic organizers hope to exploit voters' anger toward President Bush and the disputed outcome of the 2000 election to produce a record-breaking Nov. 2 turnout. They're doing it the old-fashioned way -- knocking on doors and registering voters -- with information-age technology, such as the hand-held computers carried street-to-street by canvassers. "There's going to be people crawling out of the woodwork to vote against Bush after what happened in 2000 and what he's...

Man Who Killed Armed Intruder Jailed Eight Years By Will Batchelor, PA News A man who stabbed to death an armed intruder at his home was jailed for eight years today. Carl Lindsay, 25, answered a knock at his door in Salford, Greater Manchester, to find four men armed with a gun. When the gang tried to rob him he grabbed a samurai sword and stabbed one of them, 37-year-old Stephen Swindells, four times. Mr Swindells, of Salford, was later found collapsed in an alley and died in hospital. Lindsay, of Walkden, was found guilty of manslaughter following a three-week...

MOSCOW, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - Armed policemen will be on Russian flights. "The possibility of armed policemen being on flights on a contract basis is being examined," Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Chekalin said at a press conference at Domodedovo airport. According to him, policemen are currently being trained for this duty. They are studying airplanes and the special characteristics of actions inside airplanes so that they are prepared to react to any situation. In regards to airport security, Mr. Chekalin there was improper protection of airplanes. According to him, in certain cases, criminals have the opportunity to place foreign...

Armed sky marshals are to be deployed on some UK passenger planes in response to the heightened state of alert in the US, the Government has announced. Extra security measures for air travel have also been put in place on the ground following the raised terror threat. The government said it was "a responsible and prudent step" at the present time. The sky marshals would be deployed "where appropriate" and be dressed as ordinary passengers. Transport secretary Alistair Darling said: "Security is kept constantly under review and it is essential that we take all reasonable steps to deter terrorist activities....

Pastor kills attacker on rampage Assaults mount until bullets stop Jacksonville man at LR church BY ANDY DAVIS ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE A string of violent attacks Tuesday afternoon ended when a pastor shot and killed a man who attacked him and his sonin-law with a fireplace poker after breaking into an east Little Rock church. Corey Adams’ 15 minute rampage began about 3 p.m. outside the management office of an apartment complex near The House of Prayer of the Apostolic Faith at 1400 E. 10th St. Before he was killed, Adams, 30, robbed and struck an acquaintance, attacked a pest control...

Female gun advocate straight shoots with students By Denise Albiston The founding fathers were the first feminists, they understood that the Second Amendment was about individual rights to defend themselves from those that would do them harm, said Janalee Tobais, president and founder of Women Against Gun Control (WAGC). WAGC is a national organization aimed at preserving the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Tobais spoke at the Taggart Student Center Auditorium on Thursday to support Utah State University's Students of the Second Amendment. "I have a message for the United Nations and any other person or organization that tries...

Barkley edgy but hopeful in zoning dispute BY FRED GRAY NEWS-REVIEW STAFF WRITER HORTON BAY - Bay Township excavator Lyle Barkley, who has vowed to resist by force any attempt to enforce township zoning violations against him, says if he can just be left alone he'll be able to get back on his feet. "It's the slowest year I've had in 15 years of being in business, and now with all of this going on, I can't get out of my driveway to do it," said Barkley, 55. "I have some work lined up and if they'd just leave us...

Sheriff agrees to meet with Barkley on Thursday BY FRED GRAYNEWS-REVIEW STAFF WRITER CHARLEVOIX - Lyle Barkley spent the night bulldozing berms around his 2.6 acres in Bay Township as his legal options to forestall action by Bay Township officials and the county sheriff in a zoning dispute appear to be running run out. But Charlevoix County Sheriff George T. Lasater said this morning that he had agreed to meet early Thursday with Barkley on his property along with Clint Dare, commander of Michigan Militia; Norman Olson, adviser to the militia; and representatives of the press. "Dare made the invitation...

A 77-year-old man who shot and killed an intruder in his home here on August 15 will not face prosecution, Barstow Supervising Deputy District Attorney Gary Roth said. "The shooting was done in self-defense, so no criminal charges will be filed," Roth said. Charles Harris shot 23-year-old Eric Kirby, of Newberry Springs, during an apparent robbery gone wrong, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Sgt. Gerrit Tesselaar said in August. Harris was asleep, but awoke shortly after midnight to discover that Kirby had forced entry to Harris's Fairview Road home, Tesselaar said. Harris then armed himself with a handgun and held Kirby...

Armed Men Seize Manila Commercial Center AP to My Yahoo! MANILA, Philippines - Dozens of armed men stormed a major commercial center in Manila's financial district early Sunday, hours after the president ordered the arrest of mutinous soldiers believed to be plotting a coup. Men in camouflage uniforms were seen setting up explosives in the parking lot of the Glorietta complex, which includes one of the capital's largest shopping malls, and in front of the adjacent Intercontinental Hotel. The incident came hours after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had ordered a group of junior military officers arrested for mutiny Saturday after...

Gen. to Establish Armed Militia in Iraq Monday July 21, 2003 12:09 AM By PAUL HAVEN Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraq's daily barrage of attacks killed two more American soldiers and an Iraqi employee of a U.N.-affiliated relief agency Sunday, while thousands of followers of a hardline Shiite Muslim cleric staged an anti-American protest in the holy city of Najaf. Also, the top commander of American and international troops in Iraq said Sunday he is establishing an Iraqi ``civil defense force,'' or armed militia, of about 6,800 men to help American forces combat the violence and sabotage...

Clerk wounds man in holdup at motel in Tappahannock A 25-year-old Tappahannock man remains in stable condition in a Richmond hospital after being shot June 26 while allegedly trying to rob a motel. Tappahannock police say a desk clerk of the Days Inn shot an armed robber about 12:45 a.m. Shortly after the wounded man fled the motel, emergency personnel responded to a 911 call from a nearby townhouse about a gunshot victim. Tenelle Fisher, who lived in the townhouse development, has been charged with attempted robbery and use of a firearm while committing a felony, said Tappahannock Police Chief...

Abbas to call for end to armed intifada By Aluf Benn Israel disappointed Palestinian PM doesn't plan to address uprooting terror in his summit speech Israeli government sources who have seen the draft of the speech planned by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas for the end of tomorrow's Aqaba summit say they are disappointed that instead of addressing the need to uproot terror, Abbas will say the armed intifada must end and Palestinians should resort to "peaceful methods." According to the draft of the speech seen by Israeli officials, Abbas plans to say "we will invest all our efforts, using...

Armed Forces face big new cuts, say Tories By George Jones Political Editor (Filed: 27/05/2003) The Tories accused the Government yesterday of planning a further round of defence cuts, including disbanding Gurkha companies, taking tanks out of service and mothballing the aircraft carrier Ark Royal. Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative defence spokesman, said that a succession of leaks and rumours from the Armed Forces indicated that the cuts would be outlined in a White Paper in the autumn. He said information passed to the Tories forecast that each Royal Armoured Corps regiment would lose a squadron of 14 Challenger II tanks,...

Are you as weary as I am of hearing those who opposed the war with Iraq repeat the phrase “America armed Saddam”? Well, take a short trip with me down memory lane to the halls of the United Nations. Do you remember all that whining and gnashing of teeth among the assembled states on the U.N. Security Council last fall and again this winter over the “warmongering” Americans and our “cowboy” president? Do you remember the nations who protested the loudest? Do you remember what they said? Something about, “give inspections a chance” (read “give appeasement a chance”). The people...