World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #6 Disinformation, Inc.

Merry Christmas, Infidel

By Robert Spencer
FrontPageMagazine.com | December 19, 2006

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=26075

Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman is gravely ill, and authorities are jittery.
The mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, whose
red-and-white knit cap and white beard give him an eerily Santa-esque appearance,
Sheikh Omar has told his Al-Qaeda followers: "My Brothers...If they
[the Americans] kill me, which they will certainly do -- hold my funeral
and send my corpse to my family, but do not let my blood be shed in
vain. Rather, extract the most violent revenge, and remember your brother
who spoke the truth and died for the will of God...The Mujahid Sheikh
Omar Abdel al Rahman. In the name of God the kind and merciful."

Adding to nervousness among Western officials during this holiday
season are indications that jihadists are planning to strike around
Christmastime. British Home Secretary John Reid said last Sunday that the
possibility of an attack in the next few weeks was "very high indeed," and
British authorities were aware of as many as thirty planned jihad
attacks. "The terrorists," Reid noted, "only have to get through once, as
they did on July 7, for us to see the terrible carnage that it causes."

A French official concurred: "All of the warning lights are red...The
threat is at its highest level. All [security] services are on
tenterhooks, and itâ€™s not just us [in France]. Work is under way everywhere,
but nothing concrete is emerging."

The threat is not confined to Europe. Indonesian officials fear that
Noordin Muhammad Top, one of the masterminds of the Bali bombing of 2002,
may be planning Christmas attacks in Indonesia.

This is not the first year jihadists have chosen the Christmas season
to ratchet up their threats â€“ which, even if they never materialize,
are useful in themselves to "to strike terror into (the hearts of) the
enemies" of Allah (Qur'an 8:60). Jihadists would want to sow this terror
during one of the holiest seasons of the Christian year not just to
maximize the potential for terror, but to emphasize that theirs is, as
they see it, a holy struggle. The suitability of Christmastime for a jihad
attack is an outgrowth of the idea that, in the words of Islamic
preacher Husayn Mahfooth Shu'ayb, one of "the most critical manifestations of
loyalty towards the infidels" is "celebrating their religious
festivals." Some Islamic clerics have even exhorted Muslims not to extend
Christmas greetings to Christians, for that would be seen as an endorsement
of their holiday, which they consider has no legitimacy; however, other
clerics have rejected this view.

Nevertheless, the idea that Christian belief and observance is
illegitimate is deeply rooted within Islam. The Islamic prophet Muhammad
composed for the Muslims a brief prayer, known as the Fatiha (Opening), that
became the cornerstone of Muslim prayer (it is recited seventeen times
a day by the Muslim who performs the five daily prayers) and the first
sura of the Qur'an:

"In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
The Beneficent, the Merciful.
Master of the Day of Judgment,
Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.
Show us the straight path,
The path of those whom Thou hast favoured;
Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go
astray." (Qur'an 1:1-7)

Even this, which has a status among Muslims analogous to the centrality
of the Lordâ€™s Prayer for Christians, has a polemical edge.
Traditionally Muslim divines have identified those who have earned Allah's anger
with Jews and those who have gone astray with Christians. The Qur'anic
commentator Ibn Kathir (1301-1372) explains that "these two paths are
the paths of the Christians and Jews, a fact that the believer should be
aware of so that he avoids them. The path of the believers is the
knowledge of truth and abiding by it. In comparison, Jews abandoned
practicing the religion, while the Christians lost the true knowledge. This is
why 'anger' descended upon the Jews, while being described as 'led
astray' is more appropriate of the Christians" (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, vol. 1,
87). Late in his life Muhammad received revelations that were among the
harshest toward Jews and Christians than any that he had ever received
before, including one that asserted that Jews called Ezra a son of God,
just as Christians called Christ the Son of God, and declared that both
groups had thereby incurred Allahâ€™s curse (Qur'an 9:30).

If the Christians' having gone astray is epitomized by their calling
Christ the Son of God, and Christmas celebrates Christ's birth, then what
better time to strike terror into the hearts of infidels? Here again,
jihadist behavior becomes clear with reference to Islamic beliefs and
assumptions. It is good that authorities in Britain and elsewhere are
closely monitoring holiday terror threats. It will be even better when
they begin to realize the importance of being thoroughly versed in the
Islamic theology which motivates and guides jihadists -- for only by
knowing the enemy thoroughly can he ultimately be defeated.

December 19, 2006 PM Anti-Terrorism News

French counterterror forces on high alert - Terror officials cite 3
thwarted plots
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/19/news/france.php

Are U.S. Taxpayers Paying for a Network Infiltrated by Hezbollah?
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/12/are_us_taxpayers_paying_for_a.php

Pentagon considers Navy buildup in Gulf - as a show of force against
Iran
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/19/us.iran.ap/index.html

UNSC 5 permanent members agree on Iran statement
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881930557&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

(Iran) A Setback for Ahmadinejad
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1571355,00.html?cnn=yes

Thirteen terrorists executed by hanging in Iraq
http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=935808

Al Qaeda of Iraq Video: Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman
http://blog.lauramansfield.com/2006/12/19/al-qaeda-of-iraq-video--sheikh-omar-abdul-rahman.aspx

AP Exclusive: U.S. Special Forces clear out Taliban suicide cell
threatening Kabul
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/19/asia/AS_GEN_Afghan_Quiet_Kabul.php

(Afghanistan) Taliban execute 26 male Afghans
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=368d29bb-a785-4669-9c7e-700155144307&k=15869

Neo-Taliban Commander Discusses Strategy In Afghanistan
http://www.azadiradio.org/en/dailyreport/2006/12/19.ASP

Afghanistan arrests Pakistani spy - ISI agent accused of being al-Qaida
sympathizer and aide
http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20061219-010200-3563r.htm

Top LET militant from Pakistan killed
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Top_LET_militant_from_Pakistan_killed/articleshow/854979.cms

Treasury Designates Individual Supporting Al Qaida, Other Terrorist
Organizations - Mohammed Al Ghabra organized travel to Pakistan for
recruits to meet senior al Qaida and return to UK
http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/actions/20061219.shtml

India Awaits Counter Terror Doctrine amid Terror Threats
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/12/india_awaits_counter_terror_do.php

Al Qaeda suspect handed over to Bangladesh
http://www.weeklyblitz.net/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1166563526&archive=&start_from=&ucat=4&cat=4

Foiled Terrorist Plan to Kidnap Israelis, 3 Arrested
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=117763

(Sudan) Chad says 30 people killed in attack by Sudanese Arab Janjaweed
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=67f2c3fa-d784-4754-bba9-a8c9be0a2471&k=99419

Palestinian factions agree to truce - Hamas, Fatah agree to remove
gunmen - Haniyeh claims US seeking to overthrow govt
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16235716/

French troops had bin Laden in sights: documentary
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061219/en_nm/france_binladen_dc

Sudan: Sunni jihadists accuse Iran of promoting Shi'ite Islam
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Religion&loid=8.0.370002128&par=0

Another Terrorism Case Is Dismissed Against Saleh Kamel and His Dallah
Al Baraka Investment Group
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/12/another_terrorism_case_is_dism.php

US Embassy in El Salvador evacuated on bomb threat
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N19280875.htm

(U.S.) State Dept. Losing a Top Figure In Terror War - Chief of State
Department's counterterrorism office and key strategist in war in
Afghanistan leaving soon
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/18/AR2006121801228_pf.html

Maryland Man Sentenced Who Planned to Bomb Abortion Business
http://www.lifenews.com/state01999.html

(Sri Lanka) Tamil Tigers free 23 children after abduction 'mistake'
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061219/ts_afp/srilankaunrestchildren_061219121839

Report: China Uncovers Money Laundering - 7 underground banks in cases
worth over $1.75 billion, with 44 arrested
http://www.kiplingerforecasts.com/apnews/XmlStoryResult.php?storyid=276122

(Spain) Zapatero to meet opposition leader for talks on ETA
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=81&story_id=35177

Top Colombian warlord to testify on terror campaign and Cocaine fuels
war, undermines peace in Colombia
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/12/19/colombia.warlord.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest
http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=N19266469

Commentary: What if terrorists destroy Washington? All government
branches need succession plans in case of a catastrophe.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-oe-ackerman16dec16,1,3717488.story?coll=la-news-a_section&ctrack=1&cset=true

Commentary: Merry Christmas, Infidel - by Robert Spencer
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=26075

[unknown url]

Raiders kill, mutilate civilians in Chad

AFP

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Marauding fighters have killed and mutilated 20 civilians in eastern
Chad, the central African country's government said, blaming the
atrocities on militias backed by neighbouring Sudan.

"A woman was burned and a man disembowelled" by fighters who killed a
total of five Sudanese refugees and 15 Chadian civilians at a refugee
camp at the weekend, Communications Minister Moussa Doumgor said in a
statement Tuesday.

He blamed the attacks on so-called Janjaweed militias, the horseback
raiders allegedly backed by the Sudanese government who are also accused
of devastating atrocities against civilians across the border in
Sudan's western Darfur region.

Government forces who battled the attackers after their raids on the
refugee camp and two other nearby villages also saw eight of their
soldiers killed and the victims' eyes gouged out, Doumgor said.

The army killed nine fighters in return and took four prisoners, he
added, bringing to 37 the overall civilian and military death toll for the
weekend's unrest. Eight Chadian army troops were also injured in the
battles, he said.

The raiders targeted the refugee camp at Koukou Arangana, some 100
kilometres (60 miles) from Chad's eastern border with Sudan, as well as
setting fire to two other nearby villages, Aradibe and Habile.

These attacks followed similar raids last month in which Arab horsemen
raided and torched villages whose inhabitants are mostly of black
African descent. UN and other relief workers likened these attacks to the
scorched-earth tactics used by the Janjaweed in Darfur.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio
Guterres announced in Geneva on Tuesday that he would make a two-day visit
to Chad this week to focus on improving security for aid workers and
refugees, and maintaining humanitarian supplies to displacement camps.

Chad's government declared a state of emergency over much of the
country after last month's raids and clashes between Arab and non-Arab
communities which accompanied them. The violence reportedly killed more than
400 people.

Global human rights group Amnesty International earlier this month said
its research on the ground showed that the Darfur conflict had become
"deeply entrenched" in eastern Chad, with Janjaweed carrying out attacks
on civilians.

The conflict in Darfur erupted when a rebellion in 2003 prompted a
crackdown by Khartoum, which is accused of fighting the rebels and having
the Janjaweed, its proxy Arab militia, kill local people of black
African origin.

Ethnic violence has since killed hundreds of thousands and left
millions homeless in Darfur, while more than 200,000 people have sought refuge
in Chad.

The African Union last week warned of a "tragedy unfolding" in Chad and
its southern neighbour the Central African Republic, whose government
is also fighting rebels in a conflict that has displaced many CAR
citizens into Chad.

Other heavy fighting in the east of Chad has raged in recent weeks
between the army and rebel groups aiming to topple the government of
Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, causing further mass deaths and
displacements.

Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/rss_article.aspx?ref=RSS&storyid=60818

2 local millionaires arrested in FBI sting

Created: 12/19/2006 5:10:57 PM
Updated:12/19/2006 9:19:11 PM

FBI go undercover targeting money laundering in Northeast Ohio
For many years, Michael "Mickey" Miller has been famous in Stark County. The car dealer has never been shy about promoting his products on local tv and radio.

Paul Monea became famous across the country for infomercials selling a fraudulent pain relief medical device called the "stimulator". He plead guilty to tax evasion charges in 2003 and agreed to pay $1.27 million in back taxes.

The FBI says the Monea and Miller were arrested last Thursday for taking part in a scheme to launder millions in drug money.

Miller's defense attorney, Larry Whitney, told Channel 3's Mike O'Mara that "these charges do not affect any of Miller's customers, any of his businesses, or his creditors or anything of that nature."

It was ex-boxing champ Mike Tyson's former mansion and his huge 43 carrot diamond that Monea and Miller were trying to sell. Monea owned the Tyson estate in the name of a trust. Miller was a trustee.

An undercover FBI agent met with the two men last October at Miller's Chevy dealership in Wadsworth.
The three met again in November in Las Vegas at the Venetian Casino.

The "buyer" was another undercover agent who was playing the role of a drug dealer trying to unload lots of cash.

Friends of Mickey Miller was surprised by his arrest at his car dealership by federal agents.

Tony Dipietro works next door at the Ford dealership. "I've known Mickey Miller since I was a little kid", said Dipietro. "My mom and dad bought cars off of Mickey. I mean there's nothing bad that I know bad about him."

Meanwhile, in Akron, Victor Wlaszyn, President of the Better Business Bureau, wasn't surprised that Paul Monea was in trouble with the law again.

"The man was a criminal," said Wlaszyn. "Monea was a fraud and he conducted himself that way."

60 year old Paul Monea remains in federal custody.
Mickey Miller is free after posting a 2 million dollar bond.

If the two men are convicted, they both face 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000. The case now goes to a Federal Grand Jury.

© 2006

WKYC-TV

http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?fr=yalerts-keyword&c=&p=%22FBI%22&ei=utf-8

1. FBI releases controversial Lennon files Open this result in new window
Los Angeles Times - 40 minutes ago
The FBI agreed Tuesday to make public the final 10 documents about the surveillance of John Lennon that it had withheld for 25 years from a University of California, Irvine historian on the grounds that releasing them could cause "military retaliation against the United States."
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2. Parole Board member: FBI 'intimidated me' Open this result in new window
Boston Herald - 18 minutes ago
A former Parole Board member said yesterday two rogue FBI agents pressured him into keeping a wrongly convicted man in prison. Michael Albano testified in a lawsuit filed by the families of four men...
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3. FBI: Violent crime still on rise in 2006 Open this result in new window
AP via Yahoo! News - Dec 19 12:29 AM
Murders and robberies continued to rise across the country during the first six months of 2006, preliminary FBI data released Monday show, indicating that the lull in crime between 2001 and 2004 appears to be over.
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4. Parole board member says FBI tried to intimidate him Open this result in new window
Boston Globe - Dec 19 12:50 PM
A former member of the state Parole Board said Tuesday that two FBI agents tried to intimidate him into keeping a wrongly convicted man in prison for a 1960s gangland slaying.
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5. Contrary to FBI stats, the number of murders is up in S.A. Open this result in new window
San Antonio Express News - Dec 19 4:52 PM
A report released by the FBI Monday shows violent crime in San Antonio is down, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the city's murder rate.
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6. Parole board member says FBI tried to intimidate him Open this result in new window
Boston Herald - Dec 19 1:43 PM
BOSTON - A former member of the state Parole Board said Tuesday that two FBI agents tried to intimidate him into keeping a wrongly convicted man in prison for a 1960s gangland slaying. Former Springfield...
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7. FBI Investigates Company's Billing Practices Open this result in new window
KTSM - Dec 19 5:38 PM
An FBI investigation has been traced back to a story NewsChannel 9 brought you late last year. We first told you about the company which the El Paso Independent School District invested millions of your tax dollars in.
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8. 2 local millionaires arrested in FBI sting Open this result in new window
WKYC Cleveland - Dec 19 6:04 PM
2 local millionaires arrested in FBI sting
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9. FBI Director Believes Hoffa Mystery Will Be Solved Open this result in new window
NBC 24 Toledo - 1 hour, 3 minutes ago
DETROIT (AP) - FBI Director Robert Mueller said Tuesday the decades-old disappearance of Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa will eventually be solved.
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10. Local man arrested by FBI on money laundering charge Open this result in new window
The Alliance Review - 1 hour, 16 minutes ago
Alliance resident Paul Monea was placed under house arrest Tuesday when he appeared in federal court in Akron. Monea, 60, appeared at the bond hearing after being arrested by the Canton office of the FBI on a money laundering charge.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1968079,00.html

Terror suspect at large after jumping bail

Alex Kumi
Saturday December 9, 2006

A suspected terrorist is on the run after he was released on bail,
police
said last night. Bakhtiar Mahmud Perwaiss, an asylum seeker originally
from
the Kurdish part of Iraq, disappeared a month ago.

The 28-year-old has not been seen since he failed to hand himself in to
officers at Huddersfield police station, West Yorkshire, on November 8.

The suspect, who also uses the alias Berwis, was arrested by Greater Manchester anti-terror squad officers in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, on
October 11 in connection with an investigation into the funding of
international terrorism.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester police said that if the public saw
him
they should not approach him but call 999 immediately. He said,
however,
there was "nothing to suggest Perwaiss represents a danger to the
public".

A police source told the Press Association that officers had been
opposed to
the suspect being released on bail and were frustrated by his
disappearance.

Mr Perwaiss, who had been living with his cousin in Pontefract, was
charged
with money laundering offences after an alleged scam to obtain cash in
the
Yemen was uncovered. Two other men - Omar Altimimi and Yusuf Abdullah -
were
also arrested and charged. They are due to stand trial next year.

The terror suspect is not thought to have any other family in the UK.

Airport, ports and Interpol have been notified about his disappearance.

He is described as about 1.72 to 1.75 metres tall (5ft 8in to 5ft 9in),
with
a stocky build and stubble. His English is said to be poor. He is
missing
the ends of two fingers on his right hand - an injury he claimed came
from
handling explosives in Iraq.

Google Buys Swiss Mapping Company

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20061218GoogleBuysSwissMappingCompany.html

Google Buys Swiss Mapping Company

Jason Lee Miller
Staff Writer
Published: 2006-12-18

Google continues its pattern of omnigooglization in Europe by acquiring the Internet, mapping and data processing units of Switzerland-based Endoxon, for an undisclosed sum.

Google Earths & Maps, led by Director John Hanke, will be grouped together under the company name Mappuls AG. Google says Endoxon's engineering staff and technical resources will bolster Google Earth and Maps' analysis capabilities and improve functionality of those services in Europe.

"The Endoxon team has demonstrated passion and innovation in online mapping and has developed compelling technology that will enhance our Google geo products worldwide," said Hanke.

"We're also excited about having a dedicated team in Europe that can bring a distinctively European focus to our Maps products in those markets."

Founded in 1988, Endoxon has become known in Europe as a developer of mapping, mobile, data processing, cartography, and direct marketing services, as well as the developer of the Trinity software suite.

The company specializes in AJAX mapping technologies, geo-referencing data processing, and aerial and satellite imaging.

There's been no word from France yet regarding the blatant attempt to anglicize the world, as was feared with Google Print for Libraries. No word yet from the conspiracy theorists either, though it's obvious this is a CIA spying front corporation.

[Not on here yet, but heard on the radio:

Las Vegas, they are searching for a lost plane, expected to land in Las Vegas.

San Francisco, a plane crashed in a sewage pond, the pond has been drained, so as to reach the bodies and plane.]

http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?fr=yalerts-keyword&c=&p=plane+crash&ei=utf-8

1. 3 bodies believed of Japanese found at California plane crash site Open this result in new window
Kyodo via Yahoo! Asia News - Dec 19 5:43 PM
_ Three bodies, believed to be of Japanese nationals, were found Tuesday at a plane crash site in northern California, U.S. authorities said.
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2. Texas Family Dies in Bucyrus Plane Crash Open this result in new window
NBC 24 Toledo - 1 hour, 33 minutes ago
BUCYRUS, Ohio (AP) - A family of four from Texas was killed in a single-engine plane crash near a residential neighborhood Sunday night, the Ohio Highway Patrol said Monday.
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3. FAA: Ohio crash plane, pilot had clean record Open this result in new window
KVUE Austin - Dec 19 3:48 PM
There was new information Tuesday regarding the Ohio plane crash that killed a family of four from Round Rock. Paul, Lillian, 10 year old Kitanna and 11 year old Shawn Martin were all killed Sunday night.
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4. Fatal plane crash stuns residents of apartments Open this result in new window
CentralOhio.com - Dec 19 10:20 AM
BUCYRUS - Nicole Lucio could have gone her whole life without seeing the horror of the aftermath of the plane crash that claimed the lives of Paul Martin, 49, Lillian Martin, 45, and their children, 10-year-old Kitanna, and, 11-year-old Shawn, of Austin, Texas, at 7:09 p.m. Sunday evening.
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5. Colleagues, friends react to plane crash Open this result in new window
CentralOhio.com - Dec 19 10:20 AM
BUCYRUS - The woman killed along with her family in Sunday's plane crash in Bucyrus was known as a loving parent, a community-minded person and someone who was passionate about the field of nautical archaeology.
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6. Deadly plane crash wraps tragic weekend in Bucyrus Open this result in new window
CentralOhio.com - Dec 19 8:05 AM
BUCYRUS -- The weekend before Christmas, the news here was grim: a train derailment, a man found dead on a set of steps, a field fire that claimed a barn and shed, a house fire and a deadly plane crash.
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7. Hill County man killed in plane crash Open this result in new window
KCEN-TV Temple - Dec 19 6:00 PM
Updated: Dec 19, 2006 7:43pm A Hill County man was killed in a plane crash near a high school football stadium in Austin Tuesday. Charles Griffith was piloting the plane when it went down. He was the only person on board.
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8. Family's deaths in plane crash leave grisly scene Open this result in new window
CentralOhio.com - Dec 19 4:19 AM
BUCYRUS — Nicole Lucio could have gone her whole life without seeing the aftermath of the plane crash that killed a family of four Sunday at 7:09 p.m.
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9. Pilot Killed In North Austin Plane Crash Open this result in new window
CBS 42 Austin - Dec 19 7:08 AM
Federal investigators remain on scene, following a deadly plane crash near a North Austin high school. The plane went down just after 8 a.m., in a field behind Connally High School on North Lamar. Get our video and stories on your cell phone. Subscribe to CBS 42 To Go.
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10. Preliminary Report Released On Jefferson County, Ohio Plane Crash Open this result in new window
WTRF - Dec 19 7:35 AM
The crash happend in July. STEUBENVILLE, Ohio -- A preliminary report has been issued in a deadly plane crash along a Jefferson County, Ohio roadway. The plane went down in July on U.S. Route 22 in Steubenville.
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http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1068642

2 LeT men held with explosives from Mumbai
PTI

Monday, December 11, 2006

NEW DELHI: Two operatives of the Pakistan-based terror outfit
Laskhar-e-Tayiiba were arrested here with 1.5 kg of RDX they had
procured
from Mumbai as police claimed to have thwarted an attempt to carry out
strikes in the capital.

Gulzar Ahmed Ganai and Mohd Amin Hazam, both hailing from Jammu and Kashmir,
were arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on Sunday night in
Mahipalpur locality of Southwest Delhi, a senior police official said
on
Monday.

Twenty-year-old Gulzar is a second year BA student of Government Degree
College, Baramulla and Mohd Amin is a Junior Assistant in Revenue
Department
posted at Pattan. Both of them were "carriers" and were working for the
LeT
for money.

Besides the explosives, police have recovered Rs 6 lakh and two
detonators
from them and taken into custody the person who had provided them
shelter in
the capital, senior police officials said.

"The duo had arrived here in the last week of November and then went to
Mumbai on the instructions of Abu Tahir, a district commander of LeT.
They
then collected the explosives from Nazir at Gateway of India," Joint
Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Karnal Singh told reporters.

He said police are yet to identify their target in the capital as the
two,
who arrived here on Sunday by train from Mumbai, were waiting for
further
instructions from their LeT bosses.

"They were nabbed on their return from Mumbai. They had instructions to
proceed to their hideout here and wait for further directions for
delivering
the explosives," Singh said.

Fugitive American James Ujaama Arrested in Belize

Tuesday , December 19, 2006

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,237425,00.html

Belize police arrested an American fugitive with
Al Qaeda ties and handed him
over to
U.S. authorities, a local television station reported Monday.

James Ujaama, who was
arrested
in 2002 in connection with plots to poison water supplies and later
pleaded
guilty to dealing with Al Qaeda and providing various types of material
support to the Taliban, was wanted for violating his parole.

"He entered Belize about 10 days or so ago using a Mexican passport,"
Assistant Police Commissioner Eduardo Wade told Belize's Channel 5
station.

"Police conducted an investigation and some time around midnight last
night
or earlier this morning this fugitive was apprehended here in Belize
City."

Wade said the 41-year-old Ujaama, also known as
Ernest James
Thompson
and Bilal Ahmed, had since been taken out of the country.

A spokesperson at the U.S. Embassy confirmed that Ujaama had been
handed
over to U.S. custody.

Deputy Chief of Mission Leonard Hill said that while Ujaama's immediate
crime was a parole violation, he may face additional charges and is
also a
material witness in other terror-related cases.

In 2002, Ujaama was arrested after federal officials uncovered
documents in
his possession about how to poison the country's water supplies.

The government later obtained evidence that prior to Sept. 11, 2001,
Ujaama
acted as a courier delivering laptop computers to the Taliban.

At the time, sources said Ujaama and his brother Mustafa Ujaama were
tied to
a prominent radical Muslim cleric in London named
Sheikh
Abu
Hamza Al-Masri. Al-Masri, a one-eyed mullah who often preached at
Finsbury
Park's North London Central Mosque, was later convicted of racial
hatred and
sentenced to seven years in prison.

Sources said Mustafa Ujaama, the founder of the now-closed
Dar-us-Salaam
mosque in Seattle, was believed to have tried to establish a terrorist
training camp in Bly, Ore., sources said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Nigerian militants strike oil properties

Associated Press

Monday, December 18, 2006

By DAN UDOH, Associated Press Writer

Militants seeking a greater share of oil revenues for their
impoverished region detonated two car bombs nearly simultaneously Monday in
southern Nigeria, the latest in a series of attacks that have cut crude
production in Africa's oil giant by one quarter.

No casualties were reported at either site.

One blast, at a compound belonging to Italian oil firm Agip, blew out
windows of a medical facility and cracked compound walls. Agip said the
car bomb was parked outside the compound wall and that no injuries were
reported.

Residents of a Shell compound hit by the other blast said several cars
caught fire.

Both explosions occurred in high-security residential areas around
lunchtime, when most employees would be at work. Witnesses reported chaos
at the scene.

"People were running and screaming," said George Princewill, a
motorbike taxi driver. "We didn't know what was happening. People were running
in all different directions."

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta claimed
responsibility in an e-mail to reporters, saying the bombs contained a mix of
commercial and military-grade explosives and were triggered by mobile
phone. A third attack was aborted because many civilians were nearby, it
said.

"That bombing was aborted at the very last minute to prevent loss of
innocent lives," the group said. "We haven't descended that far into the
abyss."

The group gave warning of the bombing 15 minutes before the two devices
detonated almost simultaneously. MEND previously claimed responsibility
for a car bombing that killed two people at a military barracks in
April, and another that targeted an oil refinery in May. But the
simultaneous explosions Monday pointed to a much higher level of coordination
than many previous militant groups showed.

MEND's attacks have already cut one quarter of the normal 2.5 million
barrels pumped per day in Africa's largest producer of crude. Much of
the Niger Delta oil-pumping infrastructure is away from highly populated
areas like Port Harcourt - making it unlikely Monday's blast would
result in large production cuts. Neither Shell nor Agip officials commented
on any production cuts.

Peter Sharwood-Smith, the country operations manager of private
security company ArmorGroup Nigeria Ltd., said the attack on residential
compounds meant the militants were going after softer targets.

"It is certainly a step up in terms of the violence ... although if the
(e-mail) is true it seems more of a statement of intent than an attempt
to kill people," he said.

Earlier this month, MEND targeted an export terminal belonging to Agip,
taking three Italians and a Lebanese man hostage. The group e-mailed
photos of the hostages to journalists Monday in which the men looked
tired and unshaven, but unharmed. MEND said the pictures were taken
Wednesday.

The group says the hostages will not be released until Nigerian
authorities free Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, a militant leader currently on trial on
treason charges, and Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, former governor of a
southern state, on trial on money- laundering charges.

More than 70 foreigners have been taken by a variety of groups this
year. Although most have been released unharmed after a ransom is paid, a
British oil worker was killed in the crossfire between the militants
and the navy last month.

MEND has threatened to carry out further bombings and take more
hostages until a greater share of federal oil revenues is directed to
oil-producing states. Despite the billions of dollars in oil wealth the Delta
produces each year, government corruption and mismanagement has left
most of the inhabitants in poverty, living alongside polluted creeks with
no access to good roads, regular electricity or fresh water.

Many officials, though, consider MEND a criminal gang bent on extorting
the petroleum industry or stealing crude oil for illegal resale.

___

Associated Press Writer Katharine Houreld in Lagos, Nigeria,
contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[unknown url]

Russian Analytical Digest
(No. 12, 19 December 2006)

A bi-weekly internet publication jointly produced by the Research
Centre for East European Studies at the University of Bremen and the
Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich. It is supported by the
Otto Wolff Foundation and the German Association for East European
Studies (DGO). The Digest draws on contributions to the German-
language Russlandanalysen (http://www.russlandanalysen.de), the CSS
analytical network on Russia and Eurasia (http://www.res.ethz.ch), and
the Russian Regional Report.

To download the whole issue for free or subscribe to the Russian
Analytical Digest newsletter, please visit our web page at
http://www.res.ethz.ch/analysis/rad

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RUSSIAâ€™S CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
ST. PETERSBURG POLITICS

Analysis:
Poor Record: The Russian Chairmanship of the Council of
Europe

Documentation:
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Russiaâ€™s
Request for Membership
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: Implementation
of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights
Chairmanship of Committee of Ministers: Russian Federation
Presents its Priorities
â€œRussia Deserves to Lead the Council of Europeâ€
Related Internet Links

Timeline:
Russia and the Council of Europe

Regional Report:
St. Petersburg Politics: Putin Backs Matvienko for a Second Term

SUMMARIES

Poor Record: The Russian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe
By Olaf Melzer, Frankfurt am Main

In 2006, for the first time in history, the Russian Federation chaired
the Council of Europeâ€™s Committee of Ministers, giving the country
the
opportunity to set the agenda in a European organization. Russia
outlined an ambitious program for its six months chairmanship (Mayâ€“
November 2006). Observers are ambivalent about the results because
Russia embarked on a hidden strategy: While outwardly claiming to abide
by all legal and political obligations and commitments on the basis of
common European values such as democracy, rule of law and human rights,
Russia simultaneously thwarted these very aims through its obviously
undemocratic policies and deteriorating human rights record. The value
gap between Russia and Europe has become ever more manifest â€“ despite
all political assertions to the contrary during EU-Russia meetings. A
mere disposition to discussion no longer suffices to achieve material
changes in the understanding of values â€“ a new quality of cooperation
between the Council of Europe and the EU should be initiated now.

Full text: http://www.res.ethz.ch/analysis/rad

St. Petersburg Politics: Putin Backs Matvienko for a Second Term
By Daniel Tsygankov, St. Petersburg and Moscow

With an eye to the 2007 parliamentary and 2008 presidential elections,
President Vladimir Putin recently appointed Valentina Matvienko as
governor of St. Petersburg for a second term. Depending on her future
actions, Matvienko will have an important impact on the fate of
Russiaâ€™s two competing parties of power, United Russian and Just
Russia. During her first term, she concentrated on establishing control
over the cityâ€™s political resources, attracting wealthy tax payers to
fill city coffers, and bringing in foreign investors.

Full text: http://www.res.ethz.ch/analysis/rad

Arab League head tries again to end Lebanon crisis

Reuters

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

By Yara Bayoumy

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa renewed efforts on Tuesday to
end a political standoff in Lebanon, which many fear could turn violent
as the country faces its worst political split since the 1975-1990
civil war.

"I still hold the view that there is hope," Moussa said on arrival at
Beirut airport. He met leaders of all the main factions last week and
reported progress but no breakthrough.

Anti-Syrian leaders who control the government, backed by the United States, are being challenged by an opposition led by Syrian-backed
Hezbollah, which wants veto power in the cabinet.

Opposition ministers quit the cabinet last month when talks on giving
them more seats collapsed and an opposition protest in central Beirut
entered its 19th day on Tuesday.

Thousands of opposition supporters wearing the yellow, green and orange
of the main factions gathered for an evening rally metres (yards) from
the offices of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

The opposition has declared the government illegitimate and on Monday
raised its demands by calling for early parliamentary elections.

Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem, whose group is also backed
by Iran, told Reuters on Tuesday it was up to the governing coalition
to respond to Moussa's proposals.

"Let's see what Amr Moussa is carrying with him and what will be the
answers of the ruling coalition to his initiative -- whether they will be
responsive to it or thwart it," he said.

The anti-Syrian coalition says the opposition wants to open the door to
more Syrian and Iranian influence.

Moussa's first meeting was with Siniora.

"It was a positive and constructive meeting but we still have a long
way to go," senior Moussa aide Hesham Youssef told Reuters.

He is due to meet other leaders including Nabih Berri, an opposition
leader and the parliament speaker.

The conflicting interests of the international backers of the rival
factions are complicating mediation. Moussa held talks on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, which backs Siniora.

Moussa said he would visit Syria later in the week and was in touch
with all countries in the region, including Iran.

Damascus was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon last year after
international pressure and mass protests triggered by the assassination
of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri.

Many Lebanese blamed the killing on Syria, which denies any
involvement.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged international support
for Siniora in an interview with Dubai-based Al Arabiya television.

Rice said what Lebanon needs most is for Syria "to leave it alone and
let Lebanese resolve these issues."

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

[unknown url]

Woman beaten on Jerusalem bus for refusing to move to
rear seat

By Daphna Berman

A woman who reported a vicious attack by an ad-hoc
"modesty patrol" on a Jerusalem bus last month is now
lining up support for her case and may be included in
a petition to the High Court of Justice over the
legality of sex-segregated buses.

Miriam Shear says she was traveling to pray at the
Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City early on November
24 when a group of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men
attacked her for refusing to move to the back of the
Egged No. 2 bus. She is now in touch with several
legal advocacy and women's organizations, and at the
same time, waiting for the police to apprehend her
attackers.

In her first interview since the incident, Shear says
that on the bus three weeks ago, she was slapped,
kicked, punched and pushed by a group of men who
demanded that she sit in the back of the bus with the
other women. The bus driver, in response to a media
inquiry, denied that violence was used against her,
but Shear's account has been substantiated by an
unrelated eyewitness on the bus who confirmed that she
sustained an unprovoked "severe beating."

Advertisement

Shear, an American-Israeli woman who currently lives
in Canada, says that on a recent five-week vacation to
Israel, she rode the bus daily to the Old City to pray
at sunrise. Though not defined by Egged as a
sex-segregated "mehadrin" bus, women usually sit in
the back, while men sit in the front, as a matter of
custom.

"Every two or three days, someone would tell me to sit
in the back, sometimes politely and sometimes not,"
she recalled this week in a telephone interview. "I
was always polite and said 'No. This is not a
synagogue. I am not going to sit in the back.'"

But Shear, a 50-year-old religious woman, says that on
the morning of the 24th, a man got onto the bus and
demanded her seat - even though there were a number of
other seats available in the front of the bus.

"I said, I'm not moving and he said, 'I'm not asking
you, I'm telling you.' Then he spat in my face and at
that point, I was in high adrenaline mode and called
him a son-of-a-bitch, which I am not proud of. Then I
spat back. At that point, he pushed me down and people
on the bus were screaming that I was crazy. Four men
surrounded me and slapped my face, punched me in the
chest, pulled at my clothes, beat me, kicked me. My
snood [hair covering] came off. I was fighting back
and kicked one of the men in his privates. I will
never forget the look on his face."

Shear says that when she bent down in the aisle to
retrieve her hair covering, "one of the men kicked me
in the face. Thank God he missed my eye. I got up and
punched him. I said, 'I want my hair covering back'
but he wouldn't give it to me, so I took his black hat
and threw it in the aisle."

'Stupid American'

Throughout the encounter, Shear says the bus driver
"did nothing." The other passengers, she says, blamed
her for not moving to the back of the bus and called
her a "stupid American with no sechel [common sense.]
People blamed me for not knowing my place and not
going to the back of the bus where I belong."

According to Yehoshua Meyer, the eyewitness to the
incident, Shear's account is entirely accurate. "I saw
everything," he said. "Someone got on the bus and
demanded that she go to the back, but she didn't
agree. She was badly beaten and her whole body
sustained hits and kicks. She tried to fight back and
no one would help her. I tried to help, but someone
was stopping me from getting up. My phone's battery
was dead, so I couldn't call the police. I yelled for
the bus driver to stop. He stopped once, but he didn't
do anything. When we finally got to the Kotel [Western
Wall], she was beaten badly and I helped her go to the
police."

Shear says that when she first started riding the No.
2 line, she did not even know that it was sometimes
sex-segregated. She also says that sitting in the
front is simply more comfortable. "I'm a 50-year-old
woman and I don't like to sit in the back. I'm dressed
appropriately and I was on a public bus."

"It is very dangerous for a group of people to take
control over a public entity and enforce their will
without going through due process," she said. "Even if
they [Haredim who want a segregated bus] are a
majority - and I don't think they are - they have
options available. They can petition Egged or hire
their own private line. But as long as it's a public
bus, I don't care if there are 500 people telling me
where to sit. I can sit wherever I want and so can
anyone else."

Meyer says that throughout the incident, the other
passengers blamed Shear for not sitting in the back.
"They'll probably claim that she attacked them first,
but that's totally untrue. She was abused terribly,
and I've never seen anything like it."

Word of Shear's story traveled quickly after she
forwarded an e-mail detailing her experience. She has
been contacted by a number of groups, including
Shatil, the New Israel Fund's Empowerment and Training
Center for Social Change; Kolech, a religious women's
forum; the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the
legal advocacy arm of the local Reform movement; and
the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA).

In the coming month, IRAC will be submitting a
petition to the High Court of Justice against the
Transportation Ministry over the issue of segregated
Egged buses. IRAC attorney Orly Erez-Likhovski is in
touch with Shear and is considering including her in
the petition.

Although the No. 2 Jerusalem bus where the incident
occurred is not actually defined as a mehadrin line,
Erez-Likhovski says that Shear's story is further
proof that the issue requires legal clarification.
About 30 Egged buses are designated as mehadrin,
mostly on inter-city lines, but they are not marked to
indicate this. "There's no way to identify a mehadrin
bus, which in itself is a problem," she said.

"Theoretically, a person can sit wherever they want,
even on a mehadrin line, but we're seeing that people
are enforcing [the gender segregation] even on
non-mehadrin lines and that's the part of the danger,"
she said.

On a mehadrin bus, women enter and exit through the
rear door, and the seats from the rear door back are
generally considered the "women's section." A child is
usually sent forward to pay the driver.

The official responses

In a response from Egged, the bus driver denied that
Shear was physically attacked in any way.

"In a thorough inquiry that we conducted, we found
that the bus driver does not confirm that any violence
was used against the complainant," Egged spokesman Ron
Ratner wrote.

"According to the driver, once he saw that there was a
crowd gathering around her, he stopped the bus and
went to check what was going on. He clarified to the
passengers that the bus was not a mehadrin line and
that all passengers on the line are permitted to sit
wherever they want on the bus. After making sure that
the passengers returned to their seats, he continued
driving."

The Egged response also noted that their drivers "are
not able and are not authorized to supervise the
behavior of the passengers in all situations."

Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Avner Ovadia
said in response that the mehadrin lines are "the
result of agreements reached between Egged and Haredi
bodies" and are therefore unconnected to the ministry.

A spokesperson for the Jerusalem police said the case
is still under investigation.

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