Posted on 12/17/2006 4:03:30 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-24/0701119646091404.htm
President Ahmadinejad to visit Caracas, Venezuela
Tehran, Jan 11, IRNA
Ahmadinejad-Venezuela-Visit
IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will depart Tehran for a regional tour of three Latin American countries, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Ecuador, on Friday night, January 12th.
President Ahmadinejad would on Saturday morning, January 13th, local time, arrive in Caracas Air Port, where the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez would officially receive him.
He would later on the same day hold his first round of talks with President Chavez, while members of his high ranking accompanying delegation would attend meetings with their Venezuelan counterparts.
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran would on Sunday morning, local time, be seen off officially at Caracas Air Port and depart for another lightning day-long official visit of Managua, Nicaragua.
This would be President Ahmadinejad's second official visit of Venezuela during the current (Iranian) year (ending on March 21st, 2007).
During his previous visit in late summer of 2006 he signed 29 documents and letters of cooperation, and President Chavez awarded him Venezuela's highest medal of pride, "Libertador".
Ahmadinejad's previous visit of Venezuela took three days and the two presidents attended the beginning ceremony of drilling of that country's first national oil project, Orinogo.
Federal Republic of Venezuela is the sixth largest country in south America and is one of the richest Latin American countries.
Its eastern neighbor is Guyana Republic, its southern neighbor is Brazil and it has costs at Caribbean Sea on the north.
2329/1771
---> Ahmadinejad-Venezuela-Visit
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0701090633192139.htm
Mottaki: Iran trusts brotherly state of UAE
Tehran, Jan 9, IRNA
Iran-UAE-Foreign Ministers
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Tuesday that the brotherly state of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will never allow other party to act against Iran.
He said in a joint press conference with visiting UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed an-Nahyan that friendly cooperation between Tehran and Abu Dhabi will not be against any country.
An-Nahyan said that the UAE is willing to develop cooperation with Iran adding that both Iran and the UAE call for peace and stability in the region and the two Muslim nations are influential members of the entire Muslim World.
Responding to a question on the speculation that the United States and Israeli regime may use regional states as a base for attacking Iran, an-Nahyan said that such a mad speculation is not correct adding, "My presence in Iran is a clear indication that the United Arab Emirates is Iran's friend and will remain so."
1416/2322/1412
---> Iran-UAE-Foreign Ministers
http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications243507&Category=publications&Subcategory=0
Alleged Statement from the General Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq Containing Instructions for the Establishment of a Shi’ite Capital in Baghdad
By SITE Institute
January 11, 2007
An image of a document that is indicated to be from the General Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq was recently published to jihadist forums. The document gives a set of thirteen orders for the seizure of Baghdad from the Sunni people and establishing a Shi’ite capital in their stead. Only one of the pages of the document is provided; however, the author provides a typed copy of the entire text, which is dated December 17, 2006, and addressed to several Iraqi governmental organizations, such as the Ministries of Interior and Defense, and to the Muqtada al-Sadr’s office, the Iranian embassy, and Joint General Command for the Liberation of Baghdad, among others. It states: “This is your historic opportunity to free Baghdad entirely from the clutches of the infidel Wahhabi swindlers”.
As the zero hour approaches, marked for the Friday after the statement’s date, the political and military leadership calls for the accumulation of weapons and munitions, and for “loyalist” Shi’ite families to immerse themselves in Sunni areas and take positions in critical areas such as main streets and next to mosques. According to the message, there is currently a standing unified arm of forty-thousand troops led by a multi-leadership of Iraqi-Iranian-Lebanese, and several thousand participated in training camps in Iraq and with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Organization of the attack, orders to forbid media personnel, and warnings to take precautionary measures are given, as some equipment and rockets have been contaminated with poisonous cyanide for use against the Sunnis. Should “occupying” forces intervene, all units are commanded to withdrawal, though the Iraqi government alleged promises the non-interference of these forces.
Though the document could not be authenticated and the information points to a nonexistent confrontation, it still has significant impact upon its target audience in the jihadist Internet community. The spread of the one-page image and the text on Sunni jihadist forums serves as propaganda to rally support for the Iraqi Sunnis and foment hatred towards the Shi’ites. A Shi’ite desire to promulgate the Shi’a doctrine and establish power in the Gulf region, particularly Iraq, has been the focus of statements from terrorist groups like the Islamic Army in Iraq and Islamic State of Iraq, and such Salafist jihadi scholars as Sheikh Hamid al-Ali, creating both fear and incitement.
http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications242807&Category=publications&Subcategory=0
Statement from the Political Bureau of JAMI about Allegations and Threats made by the Islamic State of Iraq in al-Ameriyah
By SITE Institute
January 10, 2007
The Political Bureau of JAMI, the Islamic Iraqi Resistance Front, issued a statement today, Wednesday, January 10, 2007, responding to a flyer attributed to the Islamic State of Iraq that was posted in al-Ameriyah. The flyer contains allegations that JAMI is affiliated with the Islamic Iraqi Party and receives orders from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and further, warns members of the insurgency group to repent and hand their weapons and vehicles to the Islamic State of Iraq, threatening: “instead of the words the sword will be used.”
JAMI denies these accusations, reminding of their position in jihad and of issuing several statements denouncing the political process, and for this purpose they directly address Ansar al-Sunnah, Islamic Army in Iraq, Twentieth Revolution Brigades, Conquering Army, and the Iraq Jihadi League. Though they express doubt in the authenticity of the flyer being from the Islamic State, and believing that such are usually the attempts of the enemy to cause division within the Mujahideen, JAMI calls upon the Islamic State to renounce the message, else, they will take “twice as much in revenge” upon those who seek to do them harm.
an interesting read on clinton/iran/nuclear plans sold. and more.
http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2006/11/how_to_build_a_.html#more
Source of link:
http://www.rantsandrayguns.motime.com/tag/intelligence
About the sizes of terror cells:
http://fatsteve.blogspot.com/2004/09/remarkable-posts-on-terror-cells.html
More on terror cells:
http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2004/04/mapping_terrori.html
$300. nose jobs:
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/
Mapping terror networks:
http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2004/04/mapping_terrori.html
The mexican border and gangs:
http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2007/01/journal_us_bord.html
Not sure how to label this one, maybe the world/opinions:
http://www.ypfp.org/
An interesting article:
http://www.ypfp.org/azerbaijan_and_georgia_playing_russian_roulette_with_moscow
Azerbaijan and Georgia: Playing Russian Roulette with Moscow
Alex Petersen's picture
This article was written by Alex Petersen and Taleh Ziyadov. It was first published in Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst on January 10, 2007.
BACKGROUND: Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia’s relations with both Azerbaijan and Georgia have been complicated. During the first and second Yeltsin administrations (1992-1999), Moscow's ambiguous and chaotic foreign policy led to repeated diplomatic and political crises with Baku and Tbilisi.
Hoping to keep the two states under Russia's control, the Yeltsin administration applied political pressure and adopted harsh policies towards them. It assisted separatists inside Azerbaijan and Georgia and tried to block their leaders from realizing the U.S.-backed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline project. Moscow’s policies turned out to be counterproductive, pushing both states away from its orbit.
continued................
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_4991131
Car chase suspect may have had explosive onboard
Jeremiah Stettler
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:01/11/2007 01:46:17 AM MST
A police chase of near-Hollywood proportions last weekend may have had a more explosive ending than once thought, documents filed in 3rd District Court indicate.
The suspect may have had a bomb.
Randy Parry, 25, is suspected of leading police on a high-speed chase Saturday that stretched from West Valley City to North Salt Lake with periodic gunfire, two car-jacking attempts and a final smash-up with police.
Police tell of a 2:30 a.m. chase in which Parry reportedly dangled out his driver's side window and fired about 15 rounds at pursuing officers. He allegedly shot a motorist four times during a failed car-jacking, stole a Flying J pickup and rammed a Salt Lake County sheriff's vehicle.
Upon his arrest, he added a final bit of drama. He told police that he had placed a bomb inside his abandoned vehicle in North Salt Lake, said West Valley police Capt. T. McLachlan.
While police wouldn't comment Wednesday on whether the bomb threat was legitimate, documents filed in 3rd District Court show that Parry is accused of possessing an explosive device. The record provides no further details.
The second-degree felony adds to a laundry list of offenses stemming from the Saturday pursuit. Parry faces two counts of first-degree felony murder, auto theft, possession or use of a firearm by a restricted person and failure to respond to an officer's signal to stop.
Police have filed similar charges against his alleged passenger, 29-year-old Crystal L. Huffman, with one exception. She faces no charges of possessing an explosive device.
Also included in the court record is a probable cause statement stating that Parry has admitted to shooting at police, stealing a car, evading officers and possessing an explosive. Huffman reportedly told police that she watched Parry steal a car and took the wheel when he dangled out the window to shoot.
Both suspects are in the Salt Lake County jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
jstettler@sltrib.com
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_4998509
Teen homicide victim was strangled
A candlelight vigil for Keely Amber Hall is held Thursday at park
By Mark Havnes
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:01/12/2007 12:23:50 AM MST
ST. GEORGE - About a dozen people gathered Thursday afternoon for a candlelight ceremony in the park where the body of 15-year-old Keely Amber Hall was found a day earlier, the apparent victim of a homicide.
"It's messed up," said John Lesperance, a friend of Hall who dropped off a dozen roses near some playground equipment where the body was found in Dixie Downs Park.
As friends gathered for the ceremony, police announced that a preliminary report from an autopsy showed Hall had been strangled.
Sgt. Craig Harding said prosecutors did not want any additional information released yet about the death, including whether she had been sexually assaulted.
The Washington County Attorney's Office is contemplating charges against a 14-year-old boy who was arrested Wednesday afternoon.
The county attorney's office did not return phone calls on Thursday.
Prosecutors could charge the 14-year-old as a juvenile or certify him to stand trial as an adult. If prosecuted in juvenile court and found guilty, he would serve in a detention center no longer than his 21st birthday. If tried as an adult, he could face up to life in Utah State Prison.
There is no death penalty for perpetrators under 18.
Thursday's candlelight ceremony was orchestrated by Jackie Angus, who lives near the park. She did not know Hall, but believed the dead girl deserved to be remembered.
"We have to remember that we lost a precious life," said Angus, as she tied a rainbow-colored cluster of balloons to the playground equipment.
She said the balloons, along with bouquets and a wreath of flowers were donated by area businesses.
Her son, Raymond, helped her light candles placed around the play area.
Ariel Decker, who said Hall lived with her family until a month ago, placed a picture at the memorial.
"Keely was a very funny person," said Decker. "She was a loyal friend who would stand up for you."
An anonymous caller early Wednesday alerted police to the body, which was discovered by police about 3:15 a.m. in the park.
There were marks on the body but nothing to suggest how she died, Harding said.
The boy was taken into custody after being interviewed at the police station. Police declined to say how he came to be a suspect.
Hall was enrolled at Millcreek High School in St. George, an alternative school for students who have trouble at other schools.
Millcreek Principal Terry Ogborn said Thursday the girl enrolled several months ago and was known by a lot of students.
Grief counselors were at the school on Thursday to help students, he said.
"It is very sad," said Ogborn. "The reaction was one of shock and disbelief. A lot of students knew her."
Before attending Millcreek, Hall was enrolled at Snow Canyon High School in St. George.
On Thursday, Snow Canyon Principal Warren Brooks said Hall was enrolled for just two weeks at the school as a sophomore.
"She was a nice young lady who had many friends," said Brooks. "Even though she was here for a short time that's unimportant. She was a member of our community and it's a loss for everyone."
Outside the school, about a mile from Dixie Downs Park, the girl's death was a big topic of conversation.
"Everyone was shocked and scared at first," said Courtney Santiago, a junior at Snow Canyon. "I want to know who did it."
James Ronow, also a junior at the school, said the school was rife with rumors about what happened.
"This is a big deal in St. George when a teenager is murdered," Ronow said. "Everybody's been talking about it."
mhavnes@sltrib.com
---
* STEPHEN HUNT contributed to this story.
Al-Qaeda 'rebuilding' in Pakistan
The head of US spying operations says the leaders of al-Qaeda have found a secure hideout in Pakistan from where they are rebuilding their strength.
National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said al-Qaeda was strengthening itself across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
Pakistan rejected the comments, which are the most specific on the issue yet.
This week, the US carried out air strikes in Somalia targeting what it believed to be members of al-Qaeda.
The BBC's James Westhead in Washington says that until now the US has not been so specific about where it believes al-Qaeda's leaders are hiding.
Such a claim will be embarrassing for Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, who Mr Negroponte described as a key partner in America's war on terror, our correspondent says.
'Secure hide-out'
Mr Negroponte told a Senate committee that al-Qaeda was still the militant organisation that "poses the greatest threat to US interests".
"They are cultivating stronger operational connections and relationships that radiate outward from their leaders' secure hide-out in Pakistan to affiliates throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Europe," he said.
We have captured or killed numerous senior al-Qaeda operatives, but al-Qaeda's core elements are resilient
John Negroponte
"We have captured or killed numerous senior al-Qaeda operatives, but al-Qaeda's core elements are resilient. They continue to plot attacks against our homeland and other targets with the objective of inflicting mass casualties," Mr Negroponte added.
He did not say where in Pakistan the group's leadership was hiding, or refer to its chief, Osama Bin Laden, or his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who are wanted for masterminding the 11 September attacks on Washington and New York.
New job
But the unusually forthright statement by Mr Negroponte appears to be the first time the US has publicly singled out Pakistan, one of its key allies, as the current home of al-Qaeda's high command.
Previously, officials had spoken more vaguely about the group having bases in the mountainous border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"Pakistan is our partner in the war on terror and has captured several al-Qaeda leaders. However, it is also a major source of Islamic extremism," Mr Negroponte said in written testimony submitted to the Senate committee.
A statement from Pakistan's foreign ministry said that Islamabad had done more than any other country to break the back of al-Qaeda and that while its security forces continued to pursue remnants of the group, it was wrong to link these to al-Qaeda elements elsewhere.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao also downplayed Mr Negroponte's comments as "too general", saying that Pakistan responded to specific information about al-Qaeda members and claiming that the movement was totally marginalised.
Difficult border
The head of the US Defence Intelligence Agency, Lt-Gen Michael Maples, said Pakistan's border with Afghanistan remained a haven for al-Qaeda and other militants.
The tribal areas on the border are thought to be where al-Qaeda leader Bin Laden and his deputy Zawahiri could be hiding.
Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 1,400-mile (2,250km) mountainous border which is extremely difficult to patrol.
Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters are thought to be operating on both sides.
The two countries regularly exchange charge and counter-charge over who is to blame for the violence.
Recently, Pakistan reiterated its intention to fence and mine sections of the troubled border.
Kabul particularly opposes the idea of mining stretches of the frontier, saying it will endanger civilian lives.
An Islamist insurgency spearheaded by the resurgent Taleban militia is at its strongest in the southern Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan.
Mr Negroponte took charge of the 16 US intelligence agencies in April 2005, but is shortly due to move to the state department where he will become Condoleezza Rice's deputy.
President George W Bush last week named retired Navy Vice Admiral Michael McConnell as the new US national intelligence director.
Mr Negroponte made the claims about Pakistan in his annual assessment of worldwide threats against the US and its interests.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6254375.stm
Published: 2007/01/12 10:47:25 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Drifting ship avoids hitting rigs
The Vindo missed the second rig by 700 yards
Helicopter footage
A drifting 4,500-tonne cargo ship has narrowly avoided colliding with two gas platforms in the North Sea.
The Vindo, which suffered engine failure on Thursday afternoon, missed one of the rigs by just 700 yds (630m), the coastguard said.
The alarm was raised as the ship's engines failed in a force 10 gale leaving it adrift 75 miles off the Lincolnshire coast.
Later an attempt will be made to attach a tow line and bring it into port.
'Very lucky'
The Vindo first began to drift towards the Murdoch gas platform - about 75 miles east of Theddlethorpe St Helen - forcing the RAF to winch its workforce to safety.
The ship's crew dropped anchor in an attempt to slow the drift but they were forced to raise it to avoid hitting gas pipelines in the area.
The nine-man crew then managed to restart the engines giving them sufficient power to avert the threat of a collision.
But the vessel again lost power and began drifting towards the Caister platform which is unmanned.
A coastguard spokesman said: "It has cleared the second platform by 700 yards so we have been very lucky that is has missed two platforms now.
"The rescue tug is en route and its expected time of rendezvous is 9am."
The spokesman added that no other platforms were in the Vindo's path and another tug, the Putford Viking, remained on standby.
Weather conditions in the North Sea remain poor with high winds.
In September last year the 90m-long Vindo crashed into another large cargo vessel, Dealer, after failing to respond to radio messages.
Nobody was injured in the incident, which took place 17 miles off the coast of North Foreland, Kent.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/6253933.stm
Published: 2007/01/12 08:49:15 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Google Alert - bomb threat
Man arrested in bomb threat at Wal-Mart
Sioux City Journal - Sioux City,IA,USA
Greve was questioned by police and subsequently made a statement
implicating himself in the bomb threat. At approximately 1:09 am
Thursday,
...
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/01/11/news/latest_news/0ce957ecfdc741bf86257260005e15f9.txt
Overnight bomb threat investigated
Shreveport Times - Shreveport,LA,USA
People with more information on this bomb threat should call police
detectives at (318) 673-6955 or Shreveport Fire Department fire
prevention
investigators ...
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070111/BREAKINGNEWS/70111003/1002/NEWS
Shore Regional High School evacuated again by bomb threat
Asbury Park Press - Asbury Park,NJ,USA
WEST LONG BRANCH — Shore Regional High School was evacuated Wednesday
after a bomb threat, the third of this school year, police said. ...
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070111/NEWS01/701110433/1004/NEWS01
14-year-old, 16-year-old charged with bomb threat
The Fincastle Herald - Salem,VA,USA
Two female juveniles were charged Thursday in connection with a bomb
threat
Tuesday, Jan. 2 at James River High School, according to Botetourt
County
...
http://mainstreetnewspapers.com/articles/2007/01/11/fincastle/news/news04.txt
Bomb threat clears school
Record Breeze - Berlin,NJ,USA
At approximately 8 am, police responded to the school after a reported
bomb
threat. Students, staff and faculty evacuated the school while
responding
...
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17698036&BRD=1687&PAG=461&dept_id=41463&rfi=6
Bomb threat - again
The Reidsville Review - Reidsville,NC,USA
Reidsville police are investigating a string of bomb threats at
Reidsville
High School after the fifth threat came in at 8:43 Wednesday morning.
...
http://www.reidsvillereview.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RVR/MGArticle/RVR_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149192596716&path=!frontpage
Bomb threat prompts school closure in Sulphur
Durant Daily Democrat - Durant,OK,USA
SULPHUR (AP) - Threatening notes taped to the doors of the Sulphur
Public
Schools building warning of a bomb threat prompted officials to shut
down
the ...
http://www.durantdemocrat.com/articles/2007/01/11/news/news7.txt
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&hl=en&client=google&ncl=1112597325
Bomb-threat suspect enters guilty plea
Daily Mining Gazette - Houghton,MI,USA
HOUGHTON — Raymond Brotherton, the 17-year-old who left a bomb threat
at
Houghton High School in December, pleaded guilty this morning in
Houghton
County ...
http://www.mininggazette.com/stories/articles.asp?articleID=5269
Girls steal pens, paper and tape to write school bomb threat
By will
Girls steal pens, paper and tape to write school bomb threat The three
13-year-olds
said they were bored. (Cape Cod Times)… Ads by Yahoo!
http://willsthrills.com/2007/01/10/girls-steal-pens-paper-and-tape-to-write-school-bomb-threat/
Will's Thrills
http://willsthrills.com
Threat evacuates Withrow
Students, teachers and staff have been evacuated from Withrow
University High
School this morning following a telephoned bomb threat, police said.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070111/NEWS01/301110012/1056/COL02
Cincinnati Enquirer - Local News
http://news.enquirer.com
Boy Arrested On Charges of Bomb Threats
Police arrested a 13-year-old boy on charges related to two bomb threat
calls
warning that a bomb was going to be set off at Boone Middle School.
Jhavele Morton,
13, of 2305 Myrtle Ave., Haines City, was arrested Wednesday and
charged ...
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070111/NEWS/701110401/1244/RSS08&source=RSS
theledger | east polk
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=EASTPOLK
Sulphur receives bomb scare
SULPHUR — A bomb threat at a Sulphur school caused cancellation of
classes at
... Early this morning, school staff came in and noticed there were
some notes
attached to the entrances, indicating some sort of bomb threat,”
Pearo said. ...
http://www.adaeveningnews.com/local/local_story_010122425.html
AdaEveningNews.com - Ada, Oklahoma--...
http://www.adaeveningnews.com
Shore Regional High School evacuated again by bomb threat
Shore Regional High School was evacuated Wednesday after a bomb threat,
the third
of this school year, police said.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070111/NEWS01/701110433/1004/rss01
app.com - Monmouth
http://www.app.com
Detectors In U.S. Cities Check Air For Germ And Chemical Weapons
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=715f5c73-ff64-46db-a4b2-b178bdf6a7a0
Detectors In U.S. Cities Check Air For Germ And Chemical Weapons
New York - When a mysterious odor wafted through the city this week,
Mayor
Michael Bloomberg quickly appeared on television to reassure unnerved
New
Yorkers that the smell - whatever it was - was harmless.
The pronouncement was more than guesswork.
Over the past three years, the U.S. government has deployed hundreds of
air-sniffing sensors in at least 30 metropolitan areas to create an
early
warning system for a chemical or biological attack. In some cities, the
devices test the air 24 hours a day for traces of anthrax, smallpox and
other deadly germs.
When the smell came through New York on Monday, it did not set off any
of
the system's alarms. And that helped offer the public reassurance.
Most of these urban monitoring networks are still in a fledgling stage,
and
authorities warn that they have their limitations. But the surveillance
network has been steadily improving.
In some big cities, including New York, Boston and Washington, monitors
have
been installed in major train and subway stations to sample the air for
poisonous chemicals or explosive gases. Also, environmental agencies
have
been given portable air sensors that can be driven around in vans or
carried
by hand.
Wireless technology may soon make it possible for the machines to do
automatic testing and relay the results to a central monitor,
eliminating
the need to carry samples to a lab.
"Our objective is to make it an almost instantaneous result," said
Christopher Kelly, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland
Security's
science and technology division.
The system has its limits. Among them, the devices are at the whim of
wind
patterns and can detect only substances that have already been released
into
the air - meaning that their primary usefulness is in getting victims
treated quickly and preventing a contagion from spreading.
The sensors also cannot test for everything. The director of Homeland
Security's biological countermeasures program told Congress last May
that
the latest generation of the BioWatch system, the part of the sniffing
network that monitors for deadly germs, will test for about 20
different
microbes and toxins.
None of the many air-sampling systems available to investigators was
able to
actually identity the rotten-egg smell that wafted across parts of New York
and New Jersey on Monday, officials said, and city investigators relied
mostly on traditional methods of analyzing the odor, including handheld
meters long used by utility crews to check for gas leaks. Investigators
have
yet to identify the smell.
The ability of the terror surveillance network to spot an actual attack
is
still largely untested.
Some experts have warned that there are far too few monitors in place.
A
report by the Environmental Protecttion Agency's inspector general
raised
questions in 2005 about the reliability and efficiency of what was then
a
$129 million BioWatch program.
Criticism of the system has lessened somewhat, however, as its
technology
has improved.
New York City's subway system was pleased enough with the performance
of the
chemical and biological detectors it installed in Grand Central Terminal and
Pennsylvania Station that it recently decided to spend an additional
$3.9
million on the system.
When the sensors were first implemented in 2004, they had trouble
distinguishing between deadly chemicals and more routine stuff, like
buckets
full of cleaning fluid.
But the system has since become better, in part because of the addition
of
cameras that allow its operators to see if anything close by might be
triggering the alarm.
The drive to invent an early warning system for bioterror still has a
long
way to go, said Penny J. Hitchcock, a senior associate at the Center
for
Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Monitoring for airborne toxins, she said, "is an enormously difficult
problem and an expensive one." But she added that the system's
potential may
be huge, and not just in fighting terrorism.
A good network of automated air sensors, she said, may someday be able
to
alert public health officials about flu outbreaks, monitor the air in
disease-prone poultry markets, or detect when someone with a contagious
disease like SARS walks into an emergency room.
The surveillance network's potential, she said, was hinted at when
BioWatch
sounded its very first warning about a possible attack in Houston in
2003.
That alert came after multiple air sensors simultaneously detected
microorganisms used in germ warfare to cause tularemia, a potentially
fatal
fever.
The bacteria turned out to have occurred naturally in the environment
and no
one became ill, but while authorities were still investigating, they
warned
hospitals to be on the lookout for flu-like symptoms.
Doctors began looking at patients more carefully, and made a surprising
discovery: People were getting sick - not from tularemia, but with a
strain
of flu that hadn't been included in that season's flu vaccine. That
kind of
discovery can save thousands of lives, Hitchcock said.
"If you think about harnessing this," she said, "I actually think it
has a
lot of potential."
Iran: U.S. Sub Was Spying
http://www.indiadaily.com/breaking_news/84727.asp
Iran: U.S. Sub Was Spying
Jan. 11, 2007
The U.S. submarine Newport News was spying on Iranian coastal
installations -- specifically, anti-aircraft defense sites -- when it
collided with the Japanese tanker Mogamigawa on Jan. 8 near the Strait
of Hormuz, Hezbollah sources said Jan. 11.
I am so glad that I wrote to Ricardo, he has posted the links for Latin Newspapers /sites for us and announced his Latin Blog Roll:
http://p6.hostingprod.com/@ricardosblog.com">http://p6.hostingprod.com/@ricardosblog.com/blog/2006/12/join_the_latin_america_blogrol.html
http://p6.hostingprod.com/@ricardosblog.com">http://p6.hostingprod.com/@ricardosblog.com/blog/2006/12/links_to_the_main_latin_americ.html
Major Latin America Newspapers List (spanish, portuguese and english)
This is a post that I think can be very useful to many of you interested in Latin American topics. In this post you can find the URL addresses of the most important Latin American newspapers. All of them are in the language they are originally published, most of them in Spanish or Portuguese, except when noted (there are some in english language below).
This post will be a live post, so I will keep adding new URLs as I discover more newspapers. If you have any important newspapers I might be missing, please comment and I will add to the list. This post only includes general newspapers, I will do another post later with specialized newspapers. Here is the list per country:
Argentina major newspapers:
Readers, have posted more links.
This is fast becoming a favorite site.
[Better report on ALL India airports]
Indian airports on high alert
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-235/0701110065185743.htm
Indian airports on high alert
New Delhi, Jan 11, IRNA
Airports-Alert-India
All airports of India have been put on high-alert following terrorist
threats of plane hijack. Civil Aviation Ministry sounded alert after
receiving information from intelligence agencies.
A high alert has been sounded and emergency anti-hijacking measures
and multi-layered security arrangements were put in place at all
airports, official sources said.
Intelligence inputs suggested that terrorists may attempt to hijack an
aircraft to seek the release of Mohammed Afzal Guru, sentenced to
death in the 2001 Parliament attack case, DD News said.
Similar threats were received almost a month back that Pakistan-based
terrorists could hijack an aircraft to Bangladesh.
Security was beefed up at airports across the country after
intelligence inputs.
The alert in December came exactly a month after several airports in
southern cities received a threat from al-Qaeda that it would attack
the Chennai airport with sophisticated technology as it had done in
Thailand.
An anonymous letter had also warned of similar attacks in
Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi
south Indian airports in Tamil Nadu and Kerala respectively, after
which all the airports were put on alert.
N. Korean officials pinned in abductions
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070112TDY01004.htm
N. Korean officials pinned in abductions
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A North Korean agent who has been regarded as a perpetrator in the
abduction of Kaoru Hasuike and his future wife, Yukiko, in 1978
carried out the abduction under a direct order from two officials of
the North Korean intelligence agency, it has been learned.
According to sources, Hasuike told police that he had been told by the
officials after being taken to North Korea that their primary target
was his girlfriend Yukiko Okudo, and he was taken as well because he
happened to be with her at the time.
The agent, known as Choe Sung Chol, has been placed on the
international wanted list on suspicion of having abducted the couple.
Six perpetrators have been identified so far in 12 cases recognized by
the Japanese government as North Korean abductions. But this is the
first time for those who ordered an abduction to be identified.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the North Korean
officials believed to have directed Choe are Kim Nam Jin and Han Kum
Nyong. Both names are spelled phonetically.
The sources said Kim told Hasuike as they dined together that he had
ordered the agent to abduct a woman, but Hasuike ended up being taken
together as he was there at the time. Hasuike also was told by Choe
that the agent had radioed to Han that the abduction of the couple was
successful, the sources said.
Han, meanwhile, told Hasuike that he had visited Japan before as a
member of a trade delegation, they added.
At that time, the two officials were in section chief-level positions
at the intelligence agency's foreign information research section, the
sources said.
Shortly after the September 2002 Japan-North Korea summit meeting, in
which the North Korean government admitted it was responsible for
abducting Japanese, Pyongyang told Tokyo that those who had played a
key role in abducting Japanese were executed or given other
punishments. However, police authorities believe the two officials,
both aged around 80, are in North Korea.
In July 1978, Hasuike, now 49, was abducted by North Korean agents on
a beach in Niigata Prefecture together with Yukiko, 50. Also that same
month, another Japanese couple--Yasushi Chimura, 51, and his then
fiance Fukie Hamamoto, 51--were taken in Fukui. The following month,
Shuichi Ichikawa and Rumiko Masumoto, then 23 and 24, respectively,
were taken from Kagoshima Prefecture to North Korea.
A different North Korean agent, meanwhile, who was detained in South Korea in February 1985, was found to have told authorities that the
information research department had ordered the agent to abduct young
Japanese women in the spring of 1978--a statement similar to that of
Kim--indicating the North Korean government was targeting Japanese
women at the time.
(Jan. 12, 2007)
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/mob-kills-officer-at-terror-suspects-funeral/2007/01/12/1168105164837.html
Mob kills officer at terror suspects' funeral
January 12, 2007 - 2:40PM
An angry mob beat an Indonesian policeman to death at a funeral for two
alleged Muslim militants killed yesterday on Sulawesi Island.
One of the dead men was a senior member of the al-Qaeda linked regional
terror group Jemaah Islamiah, said local police chief Lieutenant
Colonel
Rudy Sufahriadi.
Acting on a tip, police raided a house in Poso town early yesterday
where nine alleged Muslim militants were staying, said regional police
chief, Brigadier General Badrodin Haiti.
The men hurled at least eight bombs and opened fire with automatic
weapons, he said.
Officers returned fire, killing two of them, while seven others were
arrested, said police chief General Sutanto, who goes by one name.
State news agency Antara quoted police spokesman, Brigadier General
Anton Bachrul Alam, as saying one of the dead men was called Riyan,
alias Abdul Hakim.
Riyan was a senior member of Jemaah Islamiah who had trained at an
al-Qaeda-run camp in Afghanistan before the US-led invasion in 2001,
Alam was quoted as saying.
Jemaah Islamiah members have been blamed for a string of bombings in
Indonesia since 2000, the most deadly being the 2002 Bali nightclub
attacks that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Police seized seven bombs, five automatic weapons, 13 makeshift weapons
including several handguns, and some grenade launchers from the house
in
Poso, Sutanto said.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, with 90 per cent
of its 220 million people professing the faith, but Central Sulawesi
province has a roughly equal number of Christians and Muslims.
Large-scale clashes on Sulawesi ended with the signing of a peace
agreement four years ago, but attacks have continued, mostly bombings
or
shootings by alleged Muslim militants aimed at ordinary Christians.
Security officials have said that several Jemaah Islamiah terrorists
were hiding out the area and taking part in the attacks, hoping to
spark
more fighting on the rugged island.
In 2005, three Christian school girls were beheaded by suspected
militants in a village overlooking Poso.
Three suspected militants are on trial in Jakarta over those killings.
Finland to ask Turkey to explain deportation of scholar
http://virtual.finland.fi/stt/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=14730&group=Politics
Finland to ask Turkey to explain deportation of scholar
12.1.2007 at 7:09
Finland is to request further clarification from Turkey on the
deportation of Kristiina Koivunen, a Finnish Kurd scholar, the Finnish
embassy in Ankara told the Finnish News Agency (STT) on Friday.
In the diplomatic note, Finland criticises Turkey for not having issued
Dr Koivunen with a written notification of prohibition against entry.
Dr
Koivunen was not explained why she was denied entry and she never saw a
written deportation order.
Having travelled in a Kurdish area in southeastern Turkey, Dr Koivunen
was arrested in Van on 15 December and deported two days later.
/STT/
© Copyright STT 2007
http://www.google.com/search?q=Kristiina+Koivunen&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
Iraqi MP: Democracy in the Middle East Can Only Be Established by Force
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD142207
Special Dispatch-Iraq/Reform Project
January 12, 2007
No.1422
Iraqi MP Iyad Jamal Al-Din: Democracy in the Middle East Can Only Be
Established by Force
The following are excerpts from an interview with Iraqi MP Iyad Jamal
Al-Din, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on December 28, 2006.
TO VIEW THIS CLIP: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1351
Interviewer: "How can the Iraqi public, which is anti-American, and
which believes the U.S. is the Great Satan, support people who talk
the way you do?"
Iyad Jamal Al-Din: "Whoever believes America is the Great Satan should
not shake its hand. I do not consider the U.S. to be the Great Satan.
I view it as the sponsor and founder of the project of democracy, and
the defender of democracy in Iraq. You can be sure that if America
were to withdraw today, there would be Shiite massacres of Shiites,
Sunni massacres of Sunnis, and Kurdish massacres of Kurds. The strong
would again devour the weak, until somebody would be back the next
day there's no doubt about it. We are still far from democracy."
Interviewer: "On what do you base your trust of the U.S. and its plans
for the region?"
Iyad Jamal Al-Din: "Democracy is the religion of the dollar and serves
its global interests. This dollar has a spirited life it is dear,
honorable, and loveable. It gets vexed real quickly, get it? Dollar
has a religion. The religion of the dollar is democracy. This applies
to the entire world, because the dollar cannot thrive in dictatorial
countries, but only in democracies. For the sake of their global
economy, [the Americans] establish democracy.
"We, the oppressed and slaughtered peoples, have seen nothing but
stupid dictators or wise dictators. It's one of the two. Wise
dictators pave roads and build houses, but they are still dictators.
On the other hand, there are stupid dictators, like our friend who has
gone. We are very far from democracy. It is inconceivable that we
endured this humiliation and tyranny for 1,400 years, yet we are
unable to create a democracy. Even after 1,400 years, our culture is
still..."
Interviewer: "Democracy has resulted in what is now happening in Iraq."
Iyad Jamal Al-Din: "The result of democracy... We don't know... We are
very far from liberty. Do we even know what to do with the values of
liberty? The moment Saddam's club was lifted from over our heads, each
and every one of us wanted to assume Saddam's personality. We had one
Saddam, and now we have six, seven, 10, or 15 Saddams. We now have
local mini-Saddams. I said this before the war. I said that America
would do us a favor by ridding us of Saddam the dictator, but that
this favor would be incomplete unless it rids us of the opposition
parties. But this did not happen during the war. These people are
photocopies of Saddam. Saddam was in power for 35 years, and so was
the leader of this or that opposition party not only in Iraq, but in
all Arab and Islamic countries.
"The opposition is the mirror image of the regime. If we want to
simplify matters, how come Hosni Mubarak has ruled for 23 years? I
want to rule in his place, not because I want to change the nature of
the regime, to make it a democracy, which respects human beings and
private property... We are still far from all this. Therefore, in my
opinion, democracy can be established in our region only through
force. Democracy must be established by force, and only America can do
it."
'Pakistan's Anti-Terror Efforts Paying Off'
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=90883&d=12&m=1&y=2007
'Pakistan's Anti-Terror Efforts Paying Off'
Azhar Masood & Agencies
ISLAMABAD/KABUL, 12 January 2007 --- Gen. David Richards, senior
commander
of NATO's 32,000 troops in Afghanistan, said here yesterday that
Pakistan's effective measures against terrorism had helped NATO troops
fight militants and terrorists in Afghanistan.
Islamabad's heavy troop deployment along the porous border had helped
reduce militant activities in Afghanistan, he said.
"The reduction of incidents in Afghanistan since the autumn, however,
has much to do with activities on this (Pakistan) side of the border,"
he added.
Speaking at a press conference after a meeting with top Pakistan and
Afghan Army commanders in Islamabad he said, "We are confident that
this
conflict is winnable.
"There are problems ... but we are confident that we can deal with
them," he said, referring to the cross-border insurgency by the
Taleban.
He compared the porous Pakistan-Afghan border with the problems British
troops had faced in Northern Ireland with IRA before the Good Friday
peace accord of 1998. "That is a 135-kilometer border, and not even in
that campaign we managed to fully control it," Richards told reporters
after the tripartite meeting meant to coordinate military activities in
the region. The Pakistan-Afghan border is "2,500 kilometers long, with
mountains that are very hard to control," he said.
Appreciating Islamabad's efforts, he said the measures were paying off.
Richards said violence in Afghanistan had also been on the decline due
to the combined efforts of Afghan and international troops, operating
in
Afghanistan since late 2001.
"Today in Afghanistan the number of incidents have declined
dramatically
from the highs of the last summer.
"The reduction is to a degree the result of Pakistan Army activity and
we are the beneficiaries of that," he said. Gen. Richards said that the
Tripartite Military Commission meeting discussed the security situation
and ways to stem the activities of militants shuttling the Pak-Afghan
border.
Responding to a question about Pakistan's plan to fence and mine the
border he said, "That's a political decision and we did not discuss
it."
Gen. Richards agreed that Afghan drug dealers were contributing to the
worsening of the situation as they financed militants to help them
smuggle drugs. He said drug trade in Afghanistan is closely linked to
the war-ravaged country's economy.
During the tripartite meeting Pakistan Army was represented by Vice
Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ahsan Saleem Hayat while Commander of
Afghanistan's National Army Gen. Bismillah Khan represented his
country.
The next meeting of the commission will be held in Rawalpindi in March.
Meanwhile, the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate in a
statement said the meeting agreed to establish a joint intelligence
operations organization to be based in Kabul. Pakistan's military
intelligence personnel will be sent to Kabul to represent their country
in the new organization. The establishment of the body aims at ensuring
speedy sharing of information and better coordination to fight Taleban
and check cross-border attacks by militants.
The ISPR statement said a new mechanism would be put in place to remove
misunderstandings between Pakistani and Afghan officials.
For the first time Pakistan's intelligence personnel will be deployed
in
Kabul after the establishment of the new organization.
Meanwhile, a senior US official said in Kabul yesterday Pakistan's
commitment to fighting terrorism is genuine and the country remains an
important ally of the United States.
Pakistan "is committed to this not just because we are all concerned
about terrorism, but because of the commitment that they have ... of
orienting Pakistan in a different direction," Richard Boucher, the US
assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, told reporters
in the Afghan capital.
Pakistan wants to create a "modern society that is free from the kind
of
extremism, terrorism that has beset Pakistan and some of its neighbors
in the past," he said.
Boucher did not say whether the United States supports Pakistan's plan
to mine and fence parts of its border with Afghanistan. That plan was
also criticized by the United Nations.
"The issue to us is the control of the border and control of the border
areas," Boucher said. "Pakistan does not want to see Al-Qaeda, Taleban
operating in Pakistan and they are taking a series of steps ... to try
to control those areas better and we are supporting that," he said.
The 32,000 strong NATO-led force needs additional troops that its
commander said were required to fulfill its mission, Boucher said.
"It is very important to us that we provide the forces that are
necessary to help stabilize Afghanistan and provide security for the
people of Afghanistan," he said.
US forces, NATO and the Afghan Army are already acting to disrupt "the
ability of the Taleban to operate, to decrease their ability to launch
their traditional spring offensive," Boucher said.
[It is good to have an idea of the truth behind the reports that the CIA is making fake money, interesting how things become known in the news world...granny]
Re: German Paper Reports CIA Counterfeiting US Currency

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