Posted on 12/17/2006 4:03:30 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
VEVAK learned its methodology from the Soviet KGB and many of the Islamist revolutionaries who supported Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini actually studied at Moscow's Patrice Lumumba Friendship University, the Oxford of terrorism. Documented Iranian alumni include the current Supreme Leader (the faqih) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, under whose Velayat-e Faqih (Rule of the Islamic Jurisprudent) apparatus it has traditionally operated. Its current head is Cabinet Minister Hojatoleslam Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ezhei, a graduate of Qom's Haqqani School, noted for its extremist position advocating violence against enemies and strict clerical control of society and government. The Ministry is very well funded and its charge, like that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (the Pasdaran) is to guard the revolutionary Islamic Iranian regime at all costs and under all contingencies.
From the KGB playbook, VEVAK learned the art of disinformation. It's not so difficult to learn: tell the truth 80% of the time and lie 20%. Depending on how well a VEVAK agent wants to cover his/her tracks, the ratio may go up to 90/10, but it never drops below the 80/20 mark as such would risk suspicion and possible detection. The regime in Teheran has gone to great lengths to place its agents in locations around the world. Many of these operatives have been educated in the West, including the U.K. and the United States. Iranian government agencies such as embassies, consulates, Islamic cultural centers, and airline offices regularly provide cover for the work of VEVAK agents who dress well and are clean shaven, and move comfortably within our society. In this country, because of the severance of diplomatic relations, the principal site of VEVAK activities begins at the offices of Iran's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.
Teheran has worked diligently to place its operatives in important think tanks and government agencies in the West. Some of its personnel have been recruited while in prison through torture or more often through bribery, or a combination of both. Others are Islamist revolutionaries that have been set up to look like dissidents - often having been arrested and imprisoned, but released for “medical reasons”. The clue to detecting the fake “dissident” is to read carefully what he/she writes, and to ask why this vocal “dissident” was released from prison when other real dissidents have not been released, indeed have been grievously tortured and executed. Other agents have been placed in this country for over twenty-five years to slowly go through the system and rise to positions of academic prominence due to their knowledge of Farsi and Shia Islam or Islamist fundamentalism.
One of the usual tactics of VEVAK is to co-opt academia to its purposes. Using various forms of bribery, academics are bought to defend the Islamic Republic or slander its enemies. Another method is to assign bright students to train for academic posts as specialists in Iranian or Middle East affairs. Once established, such individuals are often consulted by our government as it tries to get a better idea of how it should deal with Iran. These academics then are in a position to skew the information, suggesting the utility of extended dialogue and negotiation, or the danger and futility of confronting a strong Iran or its proxies such as Hizballah (Hezbollah). These academics serve to shield the regime from an aggressive American or Western policy, and thereby buy more time for the regime to attain its goals, especially in regards to its nuclear weaponry and missile programs.
MOIS likes to use the media, especially electronic media, to its advantage. One of VEVAK's favorite tricks is setting up web sites that look like they are opposition sites but which are actually controlled by the regime. These sites often will be multilingual, including Farsi, German, Arabic French, and English. Some are crafted carefully and are very subtle in how they skew their information (e.g., Iran-Interlink, set up and run by Massoud Khodabandeh and his wife Ann Singleton from Leeds, England); others are less subtle, simply providing the regime's point of view on facts and events in the news (e.g., www.mujahedeen.com or www.mojahedin.ws). This latter group is aimed at the more gullible in our open society and unfortunately such a market exists. However, if one begins to do one's homework, asking careful questions, the material on these fake sites generally does not add up.
Let's examine a few examples of VEVAK's work in the United States. In late October, 2005, VEVAK sent three of its agents to Washington to stage a press event in which the principal Iranian resistance movement, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK), was to be slandered. Veteran VEVAK agent Karim Haqi flew from Amsterdam to Canada where he was joined by VEVAK's Ottawa agents Amir-Hossein Kord Rostami and Mahin (Parvin-Mahrokh) Haji, and the three flew from Toronto to Washington. Fortunately the resistance had been tracking these three, informed the FBI of their presence in Washington, and when the three tried to hold a press conference, the resistance had people assigned to ask pointed questions of them so that they ended the interview prematurely and fled back to Canada.
Abolghasem Bayyenet is a member of the Iranian government. He serves as a trade expert for the Ministry of Commerce. But his background of study and service in the Foreign Ministry indicates that Bayyenet is more than just an economist or a suave and savvy businessman. In an article published in Global Politician on April 23, 2006, entitled “Is Regime Change Possible in Iran?”, Bayyenet leads his audience to think that he is a neutral observer, concerned lest the United States make an error in its assessment of Iran similar to the errors of intelligence and judgment that led to our 2003 invasion of Iraq, with its less than successful outcome. However, his carefully crafted bottom line is that the people of Iran are not going to support regime change and that hardliner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually has achieved greater popularity than his predecessors because of his concern for the problems of the poor and his fight for economic and social justice. To the naive, Bayyenet makes Ahmadinejad sound positively saintly. Conveniently overlooked is the occurrence of over four thousand acts of protest, strikes, anti-regime rallies, riots, and even political assassinations by the people of Iran against the government in the year since Ahmadinejad assumed office. So too, the following facts are ignored: the sizeable flight of capital, the increase in unemployment, and the rising two-figure rate of inflation, all within this last year. Bayyenet is a regime apologist, and when one is familiar with the facts, his arguments ring very hollow. However, his English skills are excellent, and so the naОve might be beguiled by his commentary.
Mohsen Sazegara is VEVAK's “reformed revolutionary”. A student supporter of Khomeini before the 1979 revolution, Sazegara joined the “imam” on his return from exile and served in the government for a decade before supposedly growing disillusioned.
He formed several reformist newspapers but ran afoul of the hardliners in 2003 and was arrested and imprisoned by VEVAK. Following “hunger strikes”, Sazegara was released for health reasons and permitted to seek treatment abroad. Although critical of the government and particularly of Ahmadinejad and KhameneМ, Sazegara is yet more critical of opposition groups, leaving the impression that he favors internal regime change but sees no one to lead such a movement for the foreseeable future. His bottom line: no one is capable of doing what needs to be done, so we must bide our time. Very slick, but his shadow shows his likely remaining ties to the MOIS.
http://www.ocnus.net/artman/publish/article_27144.shtml
http://p6.hostingprod.com/@ricardosblog.com">http://p6.hostingprod.com/@ricardosblog.com/blog/2007/01/chavez_goes_for_state_control.html
Chavez goes for state control of the Venezuela economy
1 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will be sworn in today for another term as President of Venezuela (this one will go into 2013). Over the last couple of days he has been busy talking about his plans to deepen his""socialist" revolution in Venezuela. The plans include nationalization of key industries such as Telecom, Oil and Electrical Utilities. He has also signaled an end to the independence of the Central Bank, labeling that status as "neoliberal".
The move has shaken the local and global markets and has sent investors running for cover. The local stock market fell 20% percent yesterday, Venezuelan bonds plunged and the currency depreciated sharply on the black market (the country has currency controls). Despite this, Chavez seems to be emboldened by oil prices, which have caused a recent economic boom on oil-rich Venezuela.
Where will this end? I guess we have had enough of this movie shown to us in the 70's in Latin America. Hyperinflation, sharp devaluations, poor services and lack of growth were the many signs of state control over the economy. But I guess Chavez thinks he has figured out something that dozens of poiliticians and economists were not able to figure out three decades ago.
Related News:
- Washington Post: Chavez seeks to radicalize Venezuela in new term
http://p6.hostingprod.com/@ricardosblog.com">http://p6.hostingprod.com/@ricardosblog.com/
You Tube blocked in Brasil for more than 5 Million Users
Brasil Telecom and some affiliated Telcos shut down access to You Tube today to meet a court order in Brasil. The affected users are more than 5 Million.
This is clearly an episode of an arcaic justice system trying to cope with new media. Superstar Model and Actress Daniella Cicarelli was filmed by an amateur having sex on the beach in Spain. The video is all over the world via YouTube and other sites. Daniella´s lawyers place a demand for the video to be stopped on the Brasilian Internet. Brasilian justice then reacts by censoring access to YouTube! How stupid can that be? To avoid showing a video you censor millions of them?
This really deserves for all bloggers that can reproduce YouTube on their blogs to do so. After all, the traffic will compensate any risk. My god, we really need the judges to understand how the whole internet works. And we really need them busy on issues that are far more important to all of us that watching the back of a model.
Say Goodbye to Europe by Michael Freund 10 January 2007 THE JERUSALEM POST
The Muslim takeover of Europe is happening more quickly than people
think. In my column below from today's Jerusalem Post, I highlight the
demographic decline of traditional Europe and contrast it with the rapid
growth of the continent's Muslim population. This trend has far-reaching
consequences for the US and Israel, and it is time that our
decision-makers start taking it into account as they plan for the future.
Comments and feedback may be sent to: letters@jpost.com or to me
directly.
thanks,
Michael Freund
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467696394&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The Jerusalem Post, January 10, 2007
Say Goodbye to Europe
By Michael Freund
If you ever wanted to see Paris or Rome before you die, but haven't
had a chance to do so, you might want to hurry. Soon enough, most of
what we now think of as Western Europe will be transformed into a branch
of the Muslim world, which is sure to make it an even less welcoming
place for Americans, Israelis and for Jews.
That, at least, is the unpleasant, yet entirely unavoidable
conclusion to be drawn from Europe 's headlong demographic drive toward
oblivion.
Think I'm exaggerating? Consider a few cold hard facts.
According to a recent report by the Rand Corporation, "Across Europe,
birth rates are falling and family sizes are shrinking. The total
fertility rate is now less than two children per woman in every member
nation in the European Union."
Needless to say, demographers consider a birthrate of 2.1 children
per family to be the replacement level at which a society's population
size remains stable. Barring large-scale immigration, anything less means
decline and dissolution.
A research study published last year in the International Journal of
Andrology found a similar trend, concluding that, "Fertility rates have
fallen and are now below replacement level in all European Union (EU)
Member States. In the 20-year period since 1982," it noted, "most EU
Member State countries have had total fertility rates continuously below
replacement level."
At the bottom of the list are Spain , Italy and Greece , where
birthrates hover around just 1.3 per couple, leading some forecasters to
suggest, for example, that Italy 's population could shrink by one-third by
the middle of the century.
Others, such as Germany 's 1.37, the UK 's 1.74 and Sweden 's 1.75,
aren't all much better.
The figures are so bad that in many European countries, the total
number of deaths each year has actually begun to exceed the number of
births.
Indeed, the Council of Europe's 2004 Demographic Yearbook warned
that, "for Europe as a whole, more people died in 2003 than were born." In
1990, said the yearbook, "three countries - Germany , Bulgaria and
Hungary - had negative natural growth for the first time. By 2002, it was
negative in fifteen countries."
LAST YEAR, after the publication of statistics revealing that 30
percent of German women have not had children, Germany 's family minister,
Ursula von der Leyen, caused a stir when she said that if her nation's
birth rate did not turn around, the country would have to "turn out the
light." And while Europeans may be busy everywhere but in the bedroom,
the Muslim populations in their midst are proving far more expansive.
As columnist Mark Steyn points out in his must-read new book, America
Alone, "What's the Muslim population of Rotterdam ? Forty percent.
What's the most popular baby boy's name in Belgium ? Mohammed. In Amsterdam
? Mohammed. In Malmo , Sweden ? Mohammed."
Last month, the UK Daily Telegraph reported that, "Mohammed, and its
most common alternative spelling Muhammad, are now more popular babies'
names in England and Wales than George."
This, said the paper, using typically British understatement,
"reflects the diverse ethnic mix of the population."
But that "mix," so to speak, is rapidly changing - and not in
traditional Europe 's favor.
ISLAM, BY all accounts, is the fastest growing religion in Europe ,
spurred by immigration and high fertility rates. According to
projections by the US federal government's National Intelligence Council, the
continent's current Muslim population of 20 million will likely double by
2025.
And as Bruce Bawer noted last year in While Europe Slept, "Already,
in most of Western Europe , 16 to 20 percent of children are
Muslims…within a couple of generations many [European] countries will have
Muslim majorities."
Not since September 8, 1683, when the Ottomans were threatening to
breach the walls of Vienna , has Islam been so perilously close to
seizing control over Western Europe .
The implications of all this are far graver than we can even begin to
imagine, and it is not just a matter of choosing new and more
hospitable tourist destinations.
An increasingly Islamified Europe will prove ever more hostile to
Israel and America , and this trend will only intensify as the Muslim
population there continues to grow.
Even if European governments succeed in reversing the curve, which
seems highly unlikely, it will be decades before it would begin to be
felt. In the meantime, however, Muslim political power on the continent
will develop and expand, and European leaders will be hard-pressed to
ignore their demands.
This makes it far less likely that Israel and the US can count on
Europe - if they ever really could - at times of crisis in the decades
ahead. Just pick an issue, from the war on terror to Palestinian
statehood, and you'll see what I mean.
For however unbalanced Europe 's stance has been until now, it will
likely only grow worse in the years to come.
Europe as we know it is a thing of the past, and it is time for
Israeli and American decision-makers to take this into account as they plan
for the future. The face of Europe is changing rapidly, and with it the
continent's social and political make-up.
So if you really want to see the Eiffel Tower up close, you had best
not delay. Before you know it, it might just turn into a minaret.
http://www.examiner.com/printa-501725~Arizona_Money_Transfers_Seizures_Barred.html
Arizona Money Transfers Seizures Barred
By JACQUES BILLEAUD, The Associated Press
Jan 10, 2007 6:01 PM (35 mins ago)
Current rank: # 12,454 of 12,449 articles
PHOENIX - A judge has ruled that Arizona has no right to seize money transfers that originate in other states, dealing a blow to its effort to clamp down on immigrant smuggling money.
Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fields ruled that the effort by the Arizona attorney general's office was unconstitutional and that prosecutors hadn't demonstrated that the Western Union customers in question were involved in crimes.
"We are disappointed by the court's jurisdictional decision, but it will not deter our efforts to use all legal means to apprehend 'coyotes' and fight human smuggling in Arizona," said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, who plans to appeal the decision.
Arizona is the country's busiest illegal entry point. Goddard's office has used special court orders for four years to seize $17 million in wire transfers to Arizona that authorities said were payments to smugglers.
Authorities said the effort was so successful that smugglers began to route their payments from other states to Mexico, even as traffickers continued to sneak people in through Arizona.
Prosecutors seized about $200,000 in money transfers to Mexico in three days in September before Western Union challenged the practice and a judge issued a temporary hold. The transfers had been sent from 28 American states to locations in the nothern Mexican state of Sonora.
"We pursued this case in court because we feel strongly about defending the rights of our consumers," Western Union President and CEO Christina Gold said in a statement.
The seizures violate protections for interstate and international commerce under the U.S. Constitution, the judge said in a ruling dated Tuesday and made public Wednesday.
Goddard said in a statement that the special court orders were responsible for deterring many illicit money transfers and led to the arrests of more than 100 immigrant smugglers.
---
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.examiner.com/a-501198~U_S__Reportedly_Targeted_20_in_Somalia.html
U.S. Reportedly Targeted 20 in Somalia
Troops walk in a deserted street Wednesday, Jan 10, 2007, in Mogadishu, Somalia the morning after a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at Ethiopian troops, Tuesday night, in the south of the capital. The grenade missed the target and hit a house, injuring two civilians, a local resident, Khadija Muhyadin, said. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)
(AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)
Troops walk in a deserted street Wednesday, Jan 10, 2007, in Mogadishu, Somalia the morning after a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at Ethiopian troops, Tuesday night, in the south of the capital. The grenade missed the target and hit a house, injuring two civilians, a local resident, Khadija Muhyadin, said.
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN, The Associated Press
Jan 10, 2007 2:25 PM (4 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 60 of 12,449 articles
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Ethiopia's prime minister said Wednesday the U.S. military targeted 20 high-level members of an Islamic movement linked to al-Qaida in an airstrike this week in southern Somalia, attacking quickly before the Islamists could escape.
The chief of staff for the Somali president claimed that a senior al-Qaida figure was killed in Monday's airstrike, although U.S. officials did not confirm it.
The air assault has been criticized internationally, with the African Union, European Union and United Nations among those expressing concern. But British Prime Minister Tony Blair told lawmakers it was right to stand up to extremists who were using violence to "get their way" in Somalia.
Somali lawmaker Abdulrashid Hidig said the U.S. launched a new airstrike Wednesday around Ras Kamboni, a rugged coastal area a few miles from the Kenyan border where Monday's attack took place. He cited the Somali military as the source of the information.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told reporters in his country's capital, Addis Ababa, that eight suspected terrorists were killed in Monday's airstrike, five were wounded and taken into custody by Ethiopian forces, and seven escaped.
Meles said most of the victims were Somali, but the identities would not be confirmed until DNA testing is completed.
He said Ethiopia and the U.S. have been cooperating on intelligence, and that most of the information has come from the Americans. He also said the Ethiopians did not provide any intelligence that led to Monday's airstrike.
"I do not know how the Americans got the information, but they appeared to have some credible information," he said. "Apparently they felt if they did not strike quickly, the target would be missed."
However, a U.S. military official based in the region said the Ethiopian military had provided the intelligence that led to the strike. "We acted on time-sensitive intelligence and made the strike in cooperation with the Ethiopians," said the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity surrounding U.S. special operations missions.
In Washington, an intelligence official said the U.S. killed five to 10 people Monday in the attack on an al-Qaida target in southern Somalia. A Somali lawmaker said 31 civilians died Tuesday when helicopter gunships attacked suspected al-Qaida fighters in the south.
The U.S. military official said Tuesday's strike was probably carried out by Ethiopia since the aircraft were identified as Russian-made Hind helicopter gunships like those used by the Ethiopian military.
Abdirizak Hassan, the Somali president's chief of staff, said at least three U.S. airstrikes have been launched since Monday and that more were likely.
The al-Qaida suspect believed to have been killed Monday was Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, who allegedly planned the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Hassan said. He cited a U.S. intelligence report that was given to Somali authorities.
If confirmed, it would mean the end of an eight-year hunt for one of the FBI's most-wanted terrorists. Fazul was believed to have been harbored by the Somali Islamic movement that had challenged the country's Ethiopian-backed government for power.
In Washington, U.S. government officials said they had no reason to believe that Fazul had been killed. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the information's sensitivity.
Fazul, 32, joined al-Qaida in Afghanistan and trained with Osama bin Laden, according to FBI documents. The U.S. put a $5 million bounty on his head for allegedly planning the embassy bombings, which killed 225 people.
This week's air attacks were the first U.S. offensive in Somalia since 18 American soldiers were killed here in 1993. The military's aim is to capture al-Qaida members thought to be fleeing advancing Ethiopian-backed Somali troops.
Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Aided said Wednesday that U.S. special forces were needed on the ground to help Somali and Ethiopian troops capture Muslim extremists. "They have the know-how and the right equipment to capture these people," said Aided, a former U.S. Marine.
A senior Somali government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, said a small U.S. operations team already was on the ground, providing military advice to Ethiopian and government forces.
In Washington, two senior Pentagon officials said Wednesday they had heard of no plans to put any sizable contingent of American ground troops in Somalia. Small teams of liaison officers - such as special forces advisers or trainers - were another matter, they said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the subject.
U.S. troops based in Djibouti have been training Ethiopian soldiers for years, mostly in small-unit tactics and border security. Ethiopia has the largest military and is America's closest ally in the region.
Meles said the success of the Ethiopian military intervention may have paved the way for the American airstrikes.
"No one expected the terrorists would be running around in groups of five or six without any protection," Meles said.
In the Somali capital, Mogadishu, some said the U.S. air attacks would increase anti-American sentiment in the largely Muslim country, where people are already upset by the presence of troops from Ethiopia, which has a large Christian population.
---
Associated Press writers Pauline Jelinek in Washington, Chris Tomlinson in Nairobi, Kenya, Terry Leonard in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jim Krane in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Salad Duhul in Mogadishu contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.examiner.com/a-501494~Iraq_PM_Tells_Shiite_Militias_to_Give_Up.html
Iraq PM Tells Shiite Militias to Give Up
Men embrace after collecting bodies of their four relatives killed when their house was destroyed in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday Jan. 10, 2007. Police initially said the attack was from two mortar shells, but later a police official and witnesses said the home was fired on by U.S. aircraft on Tuesday night. The U.S. military had no immediate comment. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
Men embrace after collecting bodies of their four relatives killed when their house was destroyed in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday Jan. 10, 2007. Police initially said the attack was from two mortar shells, but later a police official and witnesses said the home was fired on by U.S. aircraft on Tuesday night. The U.S. military had no immediate comment.
By STEVEN R. HURST and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, The Associated Press
Jan 10, 2007 4:15 PM (2 hrs 29 mins ago)
Current rank: # 47 of 12,629 articles
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister has told Shiite militiamen to surrender their arms or face an all-out assault by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, senior Iraqi officials said Wednesday, as President Bush said he will commit an additional 21,500 American combat troops to the war.
Under pressure from the U.S., Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has agreed to crack down on fighters controlled by his most powerful political ally, Muqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric, according to officials. Previously, al-Maliki had resisted the move.
"Prime Minister al-Maliki has told everyone that there will be no escape from attack," a senior Shiite legislator and close al-Maliki adviser said. "The government has told the Sadrists: 'If we want to build a state we have no other choice but to attack armed groups.'"
In his address to the nation Wednesday evening - exerpts of which were released in advance by the White House - the president said al-Maliki had promised that U.S. forces would have a free hand and that "political or sectarian interference will not be tolerated."
He also warned that the U.S. expected the Iraqi leader to keep those promises. "America's commitment is not open-ended," Bush said. "If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people."
Al-Maliki on Saturday announced that his government would implement a new security plan for Baghdad, which consists of neighborhood-by-neighborhood sweeps by Iraqi forces backed by U.S. troops.
In the past, the Iraqi government has tried to prevent American military operations against the Mahdi Army, while giving U.S. forces a free hand against Sunni militants. The Bush administration has pushed al-Maliki, who took office in May, to curb his militia allies or allow U.S. troops to do the job.
Although al-Maliki withdrew political protection from the Mahdi Army, there was no guarantee the Shiite fighters would be easily routed from the large and growing area of Baghdad under their control.
The militia has more fighters, weapons and sophistication today than it did in 2004, when it battled U.S. forces to a standstill in two strongholds, the Shiite holy city of Najaf and Sadr City, Baghdad's sprawling Shiite slum.
Sunni militants, meanwhile, have put up fierce resistance in the five days since al-Maliki announced his new security initiative for Baghdad.
Iraqi and U.S. troops have battled Sunni insurgents along Haifa Street in central Baghdad in two major battles.
The neighborhood is only about 2 1/2 miles north of the Green Zone, site of the Iraqi government headquarters, the U.S. Embassy and base for thousands of American soldiers.
Eighty suspected insurgents were killed in the fighting - 50 of them on Tuesday alone, in an assault backed by U.S. troops, fighter jets and attack helicopters.
According to the excerpts of the president's speech released in advance by the White House, Bush will send 21,500 more troops - 17,500 of them to help pacify Baghdad,
The increase in troop levels was expected to be part of a larger military and economic effort intended to turn around a 3 1/2-year-old war that has cost the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars and more than 3,000 lives.
In preparation for the new security plan, the Iraqi military will bring two brigades from northern Iraq, a region largely populated by Kurds, and one from the south.
Tens of thousands of Iraqis have died, many of them in the capital in the past year - after the war became a religious conflict between Sunnis and Shiites. Sectarian violence began after the February bombing of a major Shiite shrine by al-Qaida in Iraq.
Al-Maliki has not commented on the Bush administration's plans to create a set of benchmarks to measure the Iraqi government's progress on improving security.
Washington wants the prime minister to come up with a plan to equitably share the country's oil wealth, ease restrictions on former Baath Party members and hold provincial elections - steps regarded as critically important to drawing Sunnis into the political process.
An Iraqi general, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose details of the plan, said a mainly Kurdish force would be sent into the Sadr City slum in northeast Baghdad, which serves as headquarters of the Mahdi Army.
The general said Kurds, who are Sunni but not Arab, were being used against the Shiite militia because soldiers from other Iraqi units were likely to refuse to fight fellow Shiites. An estimated 80 percent of Iraq's army is Shiite.
Under the new security plan, the general said, U.S. and Iraqi troops will sweep Baghdad neighborhoods in an effort to dislodge the Mahdi Army, as well as Sunni extremists - including al-Qaida in Iraq and two of its allied groups, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army and the Omar Brigade.
Iraqi and U.S. officials said Iraqi commanders will be put in charge of each of nine city districts. Each commander will operate independently of Iraqi military headquarters.
Al-Maliki has named Lt. Gen. Aboud Gambar, an Iraqi general who was taken prisoner of war by U.S. forces during the 1991 Gulf war, as the overall commander.
Gambar, a Shiite, will have two assistants, one from the police and one from the army, Iraqi military officers said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information. Gambar will report directly to al-Maliki.
The Americans plan to put 400 to 600 U.S. soldiers in each district as a backup force, a senior Bush administration official said Wednesday. Others will be held in reserve throughout the capital to deploy quickly on the request of Iraqi commanders.
One senior U.S. official said al-Maliki agreed to stop protecting the Mahdi Army under pressure from both the U.S. and his fellow Iraqis.
"It is time to perform, and that's the message he's getting from his own people, that's the message he's getting from the president and that's the message he's getting from the American people," the official said in a conference call with U.S. reporters.
The official said the al-Maliki "plan will work" because it frees his military from political and sectarian influence.
The latest drive to pacify Baghdad is at least the fourth since the war began. All have had only limited success, with insurgents and militants swiftly returning to neighborhoods after U.S. and Iraqi military forces departed.
In the most recent of these operations, Iraq's army fielded fewer troops than promised. That made it impossible to maintain control of areas that U.S. forces had cleared of gunmen.
Police on Wednesday reported that at least 92 people had died violently or been found dead across the country.
In a single deadly attack, Sunni gunmen opened fire on a convoy of buses carrying Shiite Muslim pilgrims home from the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Muslim holy places in Saudi Arabia, according to police and Akeel al-Khazaali, the governor of the southern province of Karbala.
At least 11 people were killed and 14 wounded. Al-Khazaali told Iraqi state television that some of the slain pilgrims had been severely burned in the ambush, which occurred about 75 miles west of the Shiite holy city of Karbala.
Police said 60 bodies, many of them victims of torture, were found in Baghdad Wednesday. Seven more were discovered in the northern city of Mosul. Shootings, mortar attacks and bombings at various places around Iraq claimed another 14 lives.
The U.S. military announced Wednesday that four more American soldiers died of combat wounds in Iraq. A Task Force Lightning soldier assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division died Tuesday from a gunshot wound sustained in the Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.
Two more soldiers died the same day in Iraq's western Anbar province. One was assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, and one was assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division.
A 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Soldier was killed by a roadside bomb outside of Fallujah.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.examiner.com/a-501456~Defense_Workers_Warned_About_Spy_Coins.html
Defense Workers Warned About Spy Coins
This photo released by the Central Intelligence Agency shows a hollow container, fashioned to look like an Eisenhower silver dollar, which is still used to hide and send messages, or film, without being detected. Because it resembles ordinary pocket change, it is virtually undetectable as a concealment device. (AP Photo/CIA)
(AP Photo/CIA)
This photo released by the Central Intelligence Agency shows a hollow container, fashioned to look like an Eisenhower silver dollar, which is still used to hide and send messages, or film, without being detected. Because it resembles ordinary pocket change, it is virtually undetectable as a concealment device.
By TED BRIDIS, The Associated Press
Jan 10, 2007 3:57 PM (2 hrs 49 mins ago)
Current rank: # 18 of 12,629 articles
WASHINGTON - Can the coins jingling in your pocket trace your movements? The Defense Department is warning its American contractor employees about a new espionage threat seemingly straight from Hollywood: It discovered Canadian coins with tiny radio frequency transmitters hidden inside.
In a U.S. government report, it said the mysterious coins were found planted on U.S. contractors with classified security clearances on at least three separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled through Canada.
The U.S. report doesn't suggest who might be tracking American defense contractors or why. It also doesn't describe how the Pentagon discovered the ruse, how the transmitters might function or even which Canadian currency contained them.
Further details were secret, according to the U.S. Defense Security Service, which issued the warning to the Pentagon's classified contractors. The government insists the incidents happened, and the risk was genuine.
"What's in the report is true," said Martha Deutscher, a spokeswoman for the security service. "This is indeed a sanitized version, which leaves a lot of questions."
Top suspects, according to intelligence and technology experts: China, Russia or even France - all said to actively run espionage operations inside Canada with enough sophistication to produce such technology.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said it knew nothing about the coins.
"This issue has just come to our attention," CSIS spokeswoman Barbara Campion said. "At this point, we don't know of any basis for these claims." She said Canada's intelligence service works closely with its U.S. counterparts and will seek more information if necessary.
Experts were astonished about the disclosure and the novel tracking technique, but they quickly rejected suggestions Canada's government might be spying on American contractors. The intelligence services of the two countries are extraordinarily close and routinely share sensitive secrets.
"It would seem unthinkable," said David Harris, former chief of strategic planning for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. "I wouldn't expect to see any offensive operation against the Americans."
Harris said likely candidates include foreign spies who targeted Americans abroad or businesses engaged in corporate espionage. "There are certainly a lot of mysterious aspects to this," Harris said.
Experts said such tiny transmitters would almost certainly have limited range to communicate with sensors no more than a few feet away, such as ones hidden inside a doorway.
"I'm not aware of any (transmitter) that would fit inside a coin and broadcast for kilometers," said Katherine Albrecht, an activist who believes such technology carries serious privacy risks. "Whoever did this obviously has access to some pretty advanced technology."
Experts said hiding tracking technology inside coins is fraught with risks because the spy's target might inadvertently give away the coin or spend it buying coffee or a newspaper.
They agreed, however, that a coin with a hidden tracking device might not arose suspicion if it were discovered loose in a pocket or briefcase.
"It wouldn't seem to be the best place to put something like that; you'd want to put it in something that wouldn't be left behind or spent," said Jeff Richelson, a researcher and author of books about the CIA and its gadgets. "It doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense."
Canada's physically largest coins include its $2 "Toonie," which is more than 1-inch across and thick enough to hide a tiny transmitter. The CIA has acknowledged its own spies have used hollow, U.S. silver-dollar coins to hide messages and film.
The government's 29-page report was filled with other espionage warnings. It described unrelated hacker attacks, eavesdropping with miniature pen recorders and the case of a female foreign spy who seduced her American boyfriend to steal his computer passwords.
In another case, a film processing company called the FBI after it developed pictures for a contractor that contained classified images of U.S. satellites and their blueprints. The photo was taken from an adjoining office window.
---
On the Web:
CIA hollow coin: https://http://www.cia.gov/cia/information/artifacts/dollar.htm
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.examiner.com/a-501707~Piece_of_Missing_Jet_Found_in_Indonesia.html
Piece of Missing Jet Found in Indonesia
Indonesian air force officers look over a chart during a search for a missing Boeing 737 carrying 102 people over the Makassar Strait in Indonesia Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007. In addition to aerial search, a U.S. Navy oceanographic survey ship was trying to determine Wednesday if metal objects found off Sulawesi Island's western coast were the wreckage of a Boeing 737 that disappeared more than a week ago carrying 102 people. (AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyiah)
(AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyiah)
Indonesian air force officers look over a chart during a search for a missing Boeing 737 carrying 102 people over the Makassar Strait in Indonesia Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007. In addition to aerial search, a U.S. Navy oceanographic survey ship was trying to determine Wednesday if metal objects found off Sulawesi Island's western coast were the wreckage of a Boeing 737 that disappeared more than a week ago carrying 102 people.
The Associated Press
Jan 10, 2007 5:50 PM (1 hr 2 mins ago)
Current rank: # 288 of 12,629 articles
MAKASSAR, Indonesia - A fisherman found a piece of a jetliner missing for more than 10 days in northwestern Indonesia, the first hard evidence that the plane carrying 102 people had crashed, a top search official said Thursday.
The piece of the Boeing 737's tail was recovered Wednesday from the Makassar Strait off Sulawesi Island, said Eddy Suyanto, the head of search and rescue operations.
Suyanto said the serial number on the tail piece matched the one given to the search and rescue teams by Boeing.
No survivors or bodies have been recovered, Suyanto said.
On Wednesday, a U.S. Navy oceanographic survey ship was trying to determine whether large pieces of metal found in a separate discovery off Sulawesi's western coast were also wreckage from the plane.
An Indonesian vessel recently found the three pieces of debris on the Makassar Strait seabed after local fisherman told authorities they had spotted a low-flying, unstable aircraft in the area but lost sight of it after hearing a loud bang, naval officials said.
The USNS Mary Sears, which has sonar and satellite imagery capabilities, was called in to see if the metal could be the remnants of Adam Air Flight KI-574, which fell off radars in the area during 80 mph winds on New Year's day, Suyanto said on Wednesday.
The debris was roughly 2 1/2 miles from the West Sulawesi provincial capital of Mamuju at a depth of about 4,500 feet, he said.
Rear Admiral Moekhlas Sidik, commander of the Eastern Indonesia Fleet, said the Mary Sears had confirmed one of the objects was "round-shaped metal," but that more readings were needed to identify it.
The pilot of the Adam Air plane, which left Java island for the North Sulawesi provincial capital of Manado on Jan. 1, twice changed course because of rough weather but did not issue a mayday or report technical difficulties, officials said.
With no emergency location signal to guide more than 3,600 soldiers, police and volunteers searching in the island's dense jungles and surrounding seas, teams have fanned out over a nearly 30,000-square-mile area, almost the size of South Carolina.
A U.S. National Transportation Safety Board team arrived late last week and authorities in the United States were viewing satellite imagery of the island, the embassy said.
On Wednesday, searchers combed two areas recommended by U.S. investigators after they analyzed radar data from the day of the disappearance, Suyanto said.
After mistakenly claiming last week that the wreckage had been found with 12 survivors, officials were cautious in discussing the discovery of the underwater debris. It could be a sunken ship or something else, Suyanto told reporters.
Three Americans - a man from Oregon and his two daughters - were among the plane's 96 passengers. It was not clear if any other foreigners were on board.
Adam Air is one of about 30 budget carriers that sprang up in Indonesia after the industry was deregulated in 1998. The rapid expansion has led to cheap flights throughout Indonesia, but has raised concerns about maintenance.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.examiner.com/a-499589~Restaurant_patrons_getting_shots_for_hepatitis_A.html
Restaurant patrons getting shots for hepatitis A
1 day ago Restaurant patrons getting shots for hepatitis A
Printer Friendly | PDF | Email | digg
The Associated Press
Jan 9, 2007 5:06 PM (1 day ago)
Current rank: Not ranked
PHOENIX - Patrons of two Guadalupe restaurants were getting free shots Tuesday in hopes of preventing or lessening the severity of a hepatitis A infection.
A patient recently admitted to a hospital with a hepatitis A infection was employed at the San Diego Bay and El Yaqui restaurants, Maricopa County public health spokeswoman Jeanene Fowler said.
Nearly 100 patients received the injection Tuesday at the Guadalupe Family Health Center.
Officials gave the injection, which is effective within two weeks of exposure to the illness, to another 200 people on Sunday.
continued.......
http://www.examiner.com/a-456087~Credit_reports_accessed_using_Kingman_court_security_code.html
Credit reports accessed using Kingman court security code
The Associated Press
Dec 14, 2006 9:54 AM (27 days ago)
Current rank: Not ranked
KINGMAN, Ariz. - More than 1,700 people had their credit files searched by someone using the Kingman Municipal Court's access code, court officials said.
The court started receiving calls from concerned residents in late October and began an investigation, said Edna Johnson, the court administrator for Mohave County. The people had been alerted by credit reporting agency TransUnion that someone had accessed their files.
The probe found that an unknown person used the court's access code to view TransUnion credit reports, which can contain a wealth of personal information, including social security numbers and birthdates. That information is often used by identity thieves to fraudulently obtain credit.
The court contacted TransUnion, obtained the names and addresses of those whose accounts were accessed and mailed letters to alert them of the incident, Johnson said. Not all are from the Kingman area.
TransUnion also began an investigation, which found that the records were accessed from a location outside the courthouse using the court's signon. Johnson said it still isn't known who is responsible for the incident or if it was done by an outside hacker.
"We don't know what happened because we have very good firewall," Johnson said.
The Kingman Municipal Court uses its credit reporting access to report delinquent fines to private credit reporting companies, including TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.
---
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.examiner.com/a-501499~Fires_level_two_under_construction_buildings_in_Bullhead_City.html
Fires level two under-construction buildings in Bullhead City
The Associated Press
Jan 10, 2007 3:16 PM (2 hrs 50 mins ago)
Current rank: # 854 of 12,570 articles
BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. - Arson investigators suspect a person intentionally set two separate fires that broke out within minutes of each other early Tuesday, destroying two buildings under construction.
A two-story, four unit condominium building and a 1,600-square-foot home, both in the framing stage, were torched, said Larry Tunforss, a spokesman for the Bullhead City Fire Department.
The first fire broke out about 4:15 a.m. Tuesday and the second was reported about 20 minutes later, Tunforss said.
"These are all homes under construction that apparently someone didn't like - we have no idea why or who," Tunforss said. "You have no electricity hooked up, no gas hooked up, no reason for a new building to burn."
The fire department is working with the Bullhead City Police Department in the investigation.
---
Information from: Mohave Valley Daily News, http://www.mohavedailynews.com
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.examiner.com/a-491754~Orphaned_Bear_Cub_Not_Hibernating.html
Orphaned Bear Cub Not Hibernating
In this photo released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, a black bear cub eats a crow in Douglas, Alaska, Dec. 12, 2006. The orphaned bear cub should be in its den, curled up beside its mother and sleeping away the harsh Alaska winter. Instead, the bear cub is prowling back yards on Douglas Island near Juneau, scrounging for anything to eat _ dog food, bird seed, dead crows. Grant Hilderbrandt, a regional supervisor for the Division of Wildlife Conservation, said if the cub isn't captured, his chances of surviving are poor. A live trap was set up Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007, at Gary Rosenberger and Brenda' Greenbank's home to try and catch the bear. The plan is to move the cub to a remote location off the island where it will be introduced to a denning box made of wood. The box will be filled with a nice straw bed, perhaps a good place to sleep away the rest of the winter. (AP Photo/Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Melissa Hull)
(AP Photo/Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Melissa Hull)
In this photo released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, a black bear cub eats a crow in Douglas, Alaska, Dec. 12, 2006. The orphaned bear cub should be in its den, curled up beside its mother and sleeping away the harsh Alaska winter. Instead, the bear cub is prowling back yards on Douglas Island near Juneau, scrounging for anything to eat _ dog food, bird seed, dead crows. Grant Hilderbrandt, a regional supervisor for the Division of Wildlife Conservation, said if the cub isn't captured, his chances of surviving are poor. A live trap was set up Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007, at Gary Rosenberger and Brenda' Greenbank's home to try and catch the bear. The plan is to move the cub to a remote location off the island where it will be introduced to a denning box made of wood. The box will be filled with a nice straw bed, perhaps a good place to sleep away the rest of the winter.
By MARY PEMBERTON, The Associated Press
Jan 5, 2007 1:15 AM (5 days ago)
Current rank: # 12,099 of 12,397 articles
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - By all accounts, the little black bear spotted near Juneau should be snug in its den, curled up beside its mother and sleeping away the harsh Alaska winter. Instead, the orphaned cub on Douglas Island is wide awake and scrounging for anything to eat - dog food, bird seed, dead crows.
"He is just a little black fuzzball," said Brenda Greenbank, who's seen the cub and estimates him to be 25 pounds - the size of a small dog. "I just can't see him surviving without a mother to protect him."
Now humans have stepped in where Mother Nature has failed. A live trap was set Thursday at the beachfront home owned by Greenbank and Gary Rosenberger to try and catch the fuzzball.
The plan is to move the cub to a remote location off the island where it will be introduced to a denning box made of wood and filled with a straw bed.
Grant Hilderbrandt, a regional supervisor for the Division of Wildlife Conservation, said if the cub isn't captured, his chances of surviving are poor.
"It's a hard life out there," he said.
The trap was set at Greenbank's home because the bear scored a few meals there. Rosenberger saw the cub for the first time a couple of days before Christmas after returning with deer from a hunting trip.
"He went out to the garage and thought he saw a dog carrying away a front quarter. He followed it a bit and realized it was a tiny bear," Greenbank said.
The next time Rosenberger had a close encounter with the bear was when he was putting meat scraps for gulls and eagles in a tin atop the wood pile.
"The wood pile is just outside the front door. When he reached out to put another handful in there, he just about touched that guy because he had his face buried in that pan," Greenbank said. "The little guy had crawled up on the wood pile and helped himself."
Black bears in southeast Alaska normally go into hibernation in late October or early November, with pregnant sows typically going in first. No one really knows for sure what triggers the need to hibernate but it probably has to do with the weather getting colder and food scarcer, Hilderbrandt said.
The orphan probably wasn't in good shape going into the winter because it was without its mother, Hilderbrandt said. That could be one reason why it isn't hibernating.
To lure the cub into the trap, apples and cinnamon are being used, said Neil Barten, area wildlife management biologist on Douglas Island.
"Basically, it smells like Thanksgiving," Barten said.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.examiner.com/a-501817~PC_World_editor_slain_at_California_home__police_allege_drug_tie.html
PC World editor slain at California home; police allege drug tie
The Associated Press
Jan 10, 2007 5:47 PM (31 mins ago)
Current rank: # 839 of 12,397 articles
PITTSBURG, Calif. - A senior editor for PC World Magazine was shot to death in his home in what police described as a drug-related attack, authorities said Wednesday.
Rex Farrance, 59, the San Francisco-based magazine's senior technical editor, was shot in the chest after four masked men broke into his home in a suburb east of the city around 9 p.m. Tuesday, Pittsburg police said.
The assailants also pistol-whipped Farrance's wife, Lenore Vantosh-Farrance, 56, a registered nurse. She called 911, but the attackers fled before officers arrived.
"We have substantial reason to believe that the victim and his wife were involved in the possession and, potentially, the distribution of illegal narcotics," said Pittsburg police Inspector John Conaty, who declined to specify what type of drugs were involved.
No arrests were immediately made in Pittsburg's first homicide of the year, Conaty said.
Colleagues at PC World described Farrance as a fitness buff, rock-music fan and a dedicated husband and father who excelled at his job.
"We're all in shock here," said Denny Arar, a PC World senior editor. "Rex loved his work. He really cared about covering technology in a way that was useful for readers. He cared a lot about people, period, including his co-workers."
Neighbor Herculano Darosa, 54, said he was shocked at the police's allegation that the couple were drug users or dealers.
"He looked nice to me," Darosa said of Rex Farrance.
---
Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.examiner.com/a-498466~San_Jose_high_school_junior_dies_of_blood_infection.html
San Jose high school junior dies of blood infection
The Associated Press
Jan 9, 2007 7:33 AM (1 day ago)
Current rank: # 10,110 of 12,397 articles
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Two days after visiting his school's health office, a high school junior died of a blood infection caused by the bacteria that can lead to meningitis.
Jesus Aguina-Gonzalez, 16, died Friday at Regional Medical Center of San Jose, according to the county coroner's office.
On Wednesday, he complained of a stiff neck, severe headache, nausea and vomiting. His mother took him to a hospital and he was released, Principal Bruce Shimizu said.
The boy returned to school Thursday, went home a few hours later and died the following day.
The bacteria that infected Jesus, meningococcus, can cause meningitis when it moves from the blood to the lining of the brain, said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, public health officer for Santa Clara County. There was no indication that the bacteria had traveled to Jesus' brain, he said Monday, but it can still prove fatal, although rarely.
The bacteria also is contagious and county health officers notified those who may have been in close contact with Jesus.
---
Information from: San Jose Mercury News, http://www.sjmercury.com
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.examiner.com/a-501467~Former_Swift_plant_workers_indicted.html
Former Swift plant workers indicted
By DAVID KOENIG, The Associated Press
Jan 10, 2007 3:03 PM (3 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 9,801 of 12,147 articles
DALLAS - A federal grand jury has indicted 53 former workers at a Swift & Co. meat-processing plant in Cactus on felony charges of identity theft and, in some cases, illegally re-entering the country after being deported.
The former workers were among 295 people arrested in December when federal immigration agents raided the plant in the Texas Panhandle. Authorities said Wednesday that all had taken the identities of U.S. citizens.
Federal agents raided six Swift plants in six states on Dec. 12 and arrested nearly 1,300 people. Immigration officials said last week that about 220 would face criminal charges, including the 53 who were indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Amarillo.
Each of the 53 workers named in the indictment was charged with one count of false representation of a Social Security Number, a felony which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Dallas. Many face additional charges.
"It is a serious federal crime to hijack and steal a citizen's good name and credit to illegally stay in the United States," U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper said Wednesday. "These federal indictments demonstrate federal law enforcement's commitment to address rampant identity theft and immigration fraud."
Federal public defender Bonnie Gunden said she expected the indictments - all the workers had been charged in single-count complaints after their arrests - but was surprised that most now face additional charges.
Gunden said she is the only lawyer representing the 53 defendants. She said she speaks some Spanish, "but not very well," although she has interpreters to help interview the former workers, many of whom are from Guatemala.
Gunden said she was reluctant to discuss the case, partly because she hadn't read all the indictments and the government hasn't shared other documents.
"I don't even have copies of the job applications" that are considered the basis for the charges, she said.
Besides the Social Security count, most of the defendants were also charged with aggravated identity theft, having fraudulent immigration documents, and false representation of U.S. citizenship, authorities said. Those charges carry maximum sentences ranging up to 10 years in prison plus fines.
Seven people were charged with re-entering the country after deportation, and two were charged with aggravated felon re-entry, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Authorities said the court system couldn't handle each of the 295 people arrested in Cactus, and those who won't be prosecuted have or will be deported. Those who are convicted will serve their prison terms before being deported, said John Chakwin, special agent in charge of immigration investigations in Dallas.
Lawyers for the United Food and Commercial Workers filed a lawsuit in federal court in Amarillo claiming the government violated the civil rights of the former workers by denying them legal advice before waiving their right to appeal deportation decisions. Prosecutors said no one requested legal representation.
A judge denied the union's request to stop the detentions, but one of the union lawyers said Wednesday he plans to pursue the lawsuit.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.examiner.com/a-500896~2_pilots_die_in_cargo_jet_crash_in_Mexico.html
2 pilots die in cargo jet crash in Mexico
The Associated Press
Jan 10, 2007 10:20 AM (8 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 4,390 of 12,147 articles
DALLAS - A Dallas-area aviation company says two of its pilots died in the crash of a jet in Mexico on a cargo flight from Laredo.
Ameristar Jet Charter vice president Stacy Muth (mewth) says the captain and the first officer were killed in last night's accident about 15 miles from the Guadalajara airport.
She says the Lear 24 went down in a rural, hilly area.
The wreckage has been located. No one else was on board.
Nobody on the ground was hurt.
Muth says the cause of the crash is sought.
She says the weather was good at the time of the accident.
I-D's of the pilots weren't immediately released, but Muth says one was from the Dallas area, while the other was from Michigan.
Muth says the plane was hauling one piece of non-hazardous freight to Guadalajara. She declined to identify the contents.
Muth also told The Associated Press that it was reported to her, by unofficial sources, that there was a post-crash fire.
Addison-based Ameristar Jet Charter is cooperating with Mexican authorities in the investigation.
---
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.examiner.com/a-482364~Father_of_dead_soldiers_named_Texan_of_Year_by_Dallas_newspaper.html
Father of dead soldiers named Texan of Year by Dallas newspaper
The Associated Press
Dec 30, 2006 11:30 AM (11 days ago)
Current rank: # 11,631 of 12,147 articles
DALLAS - An ex-cop whose two sons died in Iraq and Afghanistan and who has become an inspiration to people dealing with grief and loss has been named the Texan of the Year by The Dallas Morning News.
Roy Velez, a regional branch manager for a medical equipment company in Lubbock, was selected for his "strength for others, compassion and grace - and for serving as inspiration for anyone who knows his story," according to an article published on the newspaper's Web site Saturday.
Velez, still mourning for his soldier sons, has become a symbol of sacrifice in West Texas, where strangers who learn of his story approach with their own tales of woe, the article says. He answers their letters, questions and good wishes with compassion. As an active churchgoer who has built his own family ministry, Velez said he prays for "everybody and anybody," but especially soldiers still on the battlefield.
That's where Velez lost his son Freddy, who was shot several times during a battle northwest of Fallujah, Iraq.
Freddy's death was particularly hard on Velez's son Andrew, who was fighting in Afghanistan, according to the article. Tormented by his brother's death, a troubled marriage and his own combat experiences, Andrew shot himself in the mouth with an automatic weapon in July.
"I feel the boys are inside me," Velez said. "Their heart, their spirit, their love, their courage and, most of all, their freedom."
Velez's willingness to talk about his loss has made him a go-to source for reporters wanting to know his thoughts on the war. Velez said America must stay in Iraq "until we're finished."
"It's not about President Bush; it's not about being a Democrat or Republican," he said. "It's about standing behind a country that we love so much."
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
January 10, 2007 PM Anti-Terrorism News
(Iraq) Bush adding 21,500 troops to Iraq force
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070110/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq_143
(Iraq) 15 militants nabbed in heart of Baghdad
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070110/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_070109175534
(Iraq) 11 Shi'ite pilgrims shot dead
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21042128-1702,00.html
Somali President: United States "Has Right to Strike Somalia Because
Area is Hiding Terrorists"
http://mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=548470
U.S. reportedly targeted 20 in Somalia
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070110/ap_on_re_af/somalia
U.S denies reports of new Somalia air strikes
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070110/ts_nm/somalia_conflict1_dc_8
Ethiopia versus the Islamists - Lead group for U.S. action is Combined
Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, or CJTF-HOA, in Djibouti
http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/140akojf.asp
Gates Cleans House at the Pentagon - Newsweek: New Pentagon Secretary
expected to oust U.S. general involved in Somalia strikes
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16549316/site/newsweek/
Time Magazine: "A Somali Jihadist: We're Not Al-Qaeda"
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1576099,00.html
London Times: "Somali Brits are not al-Qaeda" - but include Islamist
Jihadists
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2540336,00.html
(London) Suspected terrorist threatens suicide in court - Mahoumoud Abu
Rideh
http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,21042125-923,00.html
Bosnia court jails 4 men on terror charges
http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20070110-014626-4790r.htm
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/01/bosnia_suicide_bomb_plotters_f_1.php
Leader of Algerian Group Vows Obedience to bin Laden in New Video
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/01/leader_of_alger.html
(Australia) Hicks 'took orders from bin Laden'
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21042091-29277,00.html
India's major airports on alert after hijack threat
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1895955,000600010001.htm
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467703383&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(Pakistan) 3 blasts rock JI rally at Nowshera, 10 hurt
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\01\10\story_10-1-2007_pg1_7
Sa'd Al-Hariri: "Iran is Playing a Dangerous Role in Lebanon" - MEMRI
transcript of interview with son of assassinated former Lebanese PM
Al-Hariri
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD141907
(US) Anti-terror bill, passed by House, faces scrutiny in Senate
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/10/business/security.php
Bad communications to blame for Afghan deaths: NATO
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070110/wl_nm/afghan_nato_casualties_dc
Imminent release of new jihadi software
http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070110-060443-9131r
Update: China admits fear of Muslim terror as police kill 18 in
mountain battle
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25689-2539374,00.html
Related News:
(Australia) Council ban on Islamic conference
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/council-ban-on-islamic-conference/2007/01/10/1168105052486.html
(Scotland) SNP pledges first Muslim state school in Scotland
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C01%5C10%5Cstory_10-1-2007_pg7_36
http://sify.com/printer_friendly.php?id=14366567&ctid=2&lid=1
All airports on high alert following hijack threats
Wednesday, 10 January , 2007, 19:43
New Delhi: All airports across the country have been put on high alert following hijack threats from some Kashmiri militant outfits, official sources said on Wednesday.
A Civil Aviation Ministry spokesperson said all airports have been on alert for the past four days due to the threat perception.
The sources said the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has instructed the CISF to upgrade security measures at the airports, including introducing additional checks and searches and enhancing the strength of personnel.
The BCAS decision came in the wake of intelligence inputs that some Kashmiri militant outfits were likely to target passenger aircraft and try to hijack one.
The spokesperson said the BCAS was periodically reviewing the threat perceptions and would maintain the high level of security till such perceptions died down.
All Indian airports have been on alert since the serial blasts on Mumbai suburban trains on July 11 last year.
"© 2004 sify.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved.
http://sify.com/printer_friendly.php?id=14366248&ctid=2&lid=1
[India]
PTI
Medha Patkar arrested on her way to Singur
Wednesday, 10 January , 2007, 14:57
Kolkata: Social activist Medha Patkar was today arrested on her way to Singur, the site for the Tata Motors small car project in Hooghly district, police said.
Patkar was arrested along with five other leaders of the National Alliance of People's Movement, an NGO, near Metropolitan township on EM by-pass.
They were later taken to an office of the Youth Affairs Department in Salt Lake, they said.
The police, however, cited no reason for their arrest.
The arrest was made as soon as Patkar along with other NAPM leaders left for Singur to meet the farmers there.
Earlier, Patkar demanded scrapping of the Special Economic Zone Act and the Land Aquisition Act in the interest of farmers, while calling for meaningful utilisation of vacant land for industry and setting up of agro-industries in the country.
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