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://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1770441/posts
QUANTICO Illegal Workers Were Allowed on Marine Base, Authorities Allege
Washington Post ^ | January 19, 2007 | Jerry Markon
Posted on 01/19/2007 3:25:27 PM PST by SwinneySwitch
People in this country illegally were allowed onto the Quantico Marine Base and worked there on a construction project, federal officials announced yesterday as they charged two men with harboring the workers.
Federal agents arrested the two men at an apartment complex in Dumfries, where prosecutors said the men leased apartments for the workers. Fourteen immigrants were also detained, including three found on the base.
The immigrants never gained access to sensitive information and did not pose a threat to national security, court documents said. Federal officials said they were working on building a housing complex.
Court documents said the immigrants worked for a company owned by Richard Eversole, 58, who was charged yesterday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Eversole, a U.S. citizen, obtained Department of Defense vehicle stickers from Quantico, which allowed the men to enter the base with limited inspection at the front gate, the documents said.
Also charged with conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens was Juan Martinez, 24, who was also here illegally and deported from the United States in 2004. A third man, Jacob Bocanegra, 36, was charged with unlawful reentry into the United States and remains a fugitive.
Lawyers for the defendants had not been appointed as of late yesterday, and Eversole and Martinez remained in custody.
A Quantico spokeswoman referred calls to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which began the investigation in March after a tip from an employee of Eversole's company. A spokesman for that agency, Ed Buice, said security at Quantico "is by necessity not as strict as some other bases because the town of Quantico is close by." He added that those charged had "knowingly circumvented the gate security that was there. Ultimately, the responsibility rests with the people who were charged with this crime."
The case is the latest....
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
[Will we read of the arrests of illegals at this base soon??]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1770404/posts
F-16 crashes in California, pilot safe
F-16.net ^ | 1/19/2007 | Lieven Dewitte
Posted on 01/19/2007 2:00:58 PM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
January 19, 2007 (by Lieven Dewitte) - A California Air National Guard F-16C (#84-1279) crashed today near Owens Lake in remote eastern California, but the pilot safely ejected and was not hurt.
An engine failure in the jet caused the pilot to bail out during a training exercise, Guard officials said.
Search and rescue personnel from China Lake Naval Air Station recovered the pilot. The F-16 belongs to the 194th "Griffins" FS which is based at Fresno ANG Base, CA and is the flying unit of the 144th FW.
The cause of the crash is being investigated.
The vast and desolate Owens Lake area about 200 miles north of Los Angeles is a largely dry lakebed favored for military training runs.
It lies east of the Fresno headquarters of the California Air National Guard; The Sierra Nevada, with peaks towering above 14,000 feet, lies between the base and the Owens Valley.
The 144th Fighter Wing is the Southwest's "main operating base," where aircraft, weapons, maintenance, intelligence and support functions are clustered for the explicit purpose of homeland security.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1770403/posts
Columbus T-38 crashes
Air Force Link ^ | 1/19/2007 | AF news staff
Posted on 01/19/2007 1:55:38 PM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
1/19/2007 - COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AFNEWS) -- A Columbus AFB T-38 Talon crashed about 1:30 p.m. Jan. 18 approximately 40 miles south of Memphis, Tenn.
There were two pilots on board and both ejected safely.
Both pilots were examined by medical authorities, released and returned to Columbus AFB.
At the time of the accident, the aircraft was conducting a low-level navigation training sortie.
The cause for the mishap is under investigation by an Air Force safety team.
Additional details will be provided as soon as they become available.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1770261/posts
Muslims Want Mosque in Football Stadium
Little Green Footballs ^ | Jan 19, 2007
Posted on 01/19/2007 9:34:13 AM PST by jdm
Yet another demand from Muslims for special treatment—special treatment that would be denied to any other religious group: Seeking timeout for prayer. (Hat tip: Ethel.)
As the Ohio State Buckeyes pummeled the Northwestern Wildcats on Ryan Field last November, senior Amir Siddiqui and his friends slipped below the bleachers, removed their shoes and knelt on pieces of poster board to pray.
As the sea of purple cheered and jeered above, Siddiqui tuned out the world around him to perform salaat, the Islamic ritual prayer that faithful Muslims recite five times daily.
Siddiqui will do the same in Welsh-Ryan Arena next week when the Buckeyes basketball team goes up against the Wildcats. But rather than pray amid raucous crowds, some Muslim students are pressing Northwestern’s athletic department to set aside a secluded space for the ritual, or grant them permission to come and go from the arena before the buzzer.
“If we attend the game in its entirety, we would miss one of our five daily prayers,” said Siddiqui, president of the Muslim cultural Student Association. “I can leave the game early, come later, or pray somewhere in the stadium on dirty floors with lots of noise and lots of people around, which isn’t a huge problem. But we’d love to have a small area.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1770226/posts
Man Pleads Guilty In Plot To Ship Arms
FOX ^ | 01/19/07 | Unknown
Posted on 01/19/2007 8:37:24 AM PST by Froufrou
An Indonesian businessmen pleaded guilty in a plot federal authorities say aimed to buy hundreds of handguns, machine guns, air-to-air missiles and aviation radar equipment for export to Indonesia.
Under a plea agreement, 41-year-old Hadianto Djoko Djuliarso faces up to seven years and three months in prison for conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and money laundering, according to the U.S. attorney's office. He entered the plea Thursday.
Djuliarso, the last of four businessmen to plead guilty to conspiring to violate the act, also agreed to forfeit about $600,000 seized during the investigation.
Djuliarso was arrested in April along with Ignatius Ferdinandus Soeharli, 49, of Indonesia; Ibrahim Bin Amran, 46, of Singapore; and David Beecroft, 44, of the United Kingdom.
Amran, who also pleaded guilty to money laundering, faces up to seven years and three months in prison. Soeharli faces up to four years and nine months in prison.
David Beecroft was sentenced in December to eight months in prison and will be deported following his release.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Thanks for your post, the stories go on.
I found more deaths showing up, soon we will have enough for a book, with all of them. LOL.
Should be on this page, another shot in the head, as Anna P. was, same M.O....
I found a Chechen group at Yahoo and joined, they have had several interesting posts and also, some that I do not agree with, as total support of any opinion can be a bit much.....
What keeps me on the middle road, is checking a few of the U.S. democrat posts on their version of the war and how awful I am, as I call myself a Christian.
The simple fact is, I do not know what is the truth.
As long as you live, you will be reading new facts on the Linvinenko death and that of JFK.
Truth is I guess, that I would have to say Putin is involved....
ping to 2395
ping to 2389
A google on schools, per post #2256:
http://www.google.com/search?q=preparations+for+attacks+on+American+schools&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=preparations+for+attacks+on+American+schools+that+will+bring+rivers+of+blood+and+staggering+body+counts+are+well+underway+in+Islamic+terrorist+camps&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=They%E2%80%99re+already+begun+testing+school-related+targets+here&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=They%E2%80%99re+already+begun+testing+school-related+targets+here&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
looks as tho the 4th link is a video, found:
http://www.google.com/search?q=al-Qaeda+testing+school-related+targets+here&btnG=Search&hl=en&lr=&rls=com.netscape%3Aen-US
New articles:
http://www.google.com/search?q=videotapes+confiscated+in+Afghanistan%2C+showing+al-Qaeda&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
xx
http://www.google.com/search?q=progress+of+Al+Qaeda+and+affiliated+terror+groups&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
xx
http://www.google.com/search?q=assess+that+the+global+jihadist+movement&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
Very interesting:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Video+tapes+believed+to+show+al-Qaeda+trainees+in+Afghanistan&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
to check:
http://www.google.com/search?q=computers+of+Al+Qaeda+and+affiliated+terror+groups&btnG=Search&hl=en&lr=&rls=com.netscape%3Aen-US
WoW:
http://www.google.com/search?q=computers+of+Al+Qaeda+&btnG=Search&hl=en&lr=&rls=com.netscape%3Aen-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=letters+and+records+of+Al+Qaeda+&btnG=Search&hl=en&lr=&rls=com.netscape%3Aen-US
Need to check the trials:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Americans+conspiring+with+al+Qaeda&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
More trials:
http://www.google.com/search?q=ARRESTED+FOR+CONSPIRING+TO+PROVIDE+SUPPORT+TO+AL+QAEDA&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=based+on+a+letter%2C+confiscated+by+U.S.+forces&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=terrorists+practicing+the+takeover+of+a+school&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=jihadist+movement+and+continued+pressure+on+al-Qa%E2%80%99ida%2C+could&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.netscape:en-US&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=1&q=jihadist+movement+and+continued+pressure+on+al-Qaeda,+could&spell=1
Worth checking:
http://www.google.com/search?q=independent+terrorist+groups%2C+and+emerging+networks+and+cells&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
Going to be interesting:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Post-9%2F11+Strategy+of+Isolated+Cells+Joined+in+Jihad&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=cells+tied+to+Hezbollah%2C+Islamic+Jihad%2C+and+al-Qaeda+may+be+operating+in+several+Latin+American&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=Ahmadinejad+travels+to+Latin+America+to+visit+allies&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=the+significance+of+Mr.+Ahmadinejad%27s+travels+in+Latin+America&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
c & a start anti US fund:
http://www.google.com/search?q=nuclear+program+and+possibly+line+up+new+allies+in+Latin+America&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=Iran+and+Venezuela+plan+anti-U.S.+fund&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
We buy their oil, so they will have money to defeat us:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%242+billion+fund+to+finance+investments+in+Venezuela+and+Iran&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=nuclear+program+and+possibly+line+up+new+allies+in+Latin+America&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=China+nuclear+program+and+possibly+line+up+new+allies+in+Latin+America&btnG=Search&hl=en&lr=&rls=com.netscape%3Aen-US
Needs more research:
http://www.google.com/search?q=terrorist+cells+may+leverage+existing+drug-trafficking&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
xxx
http://www.google.com/search?q=existing+training+programs.+...+Terrorism+and+Drug+Trafficking%3A+Responsibilities+for+Developing+Explosives+and&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=growing+combination+of+drug+trafficking+and+terrorism&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=had+in+his+carry-on+baggage+the+type+of+combination+liquid+explosive+and+electronic&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=officials+had+found+his+explosives%2C+which+were+hidden+in&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=high+explosives+were+hidden&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
Very Interesting:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Caches+of+Explosives+Hidden+in+Moscow&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
Need to check the lists of stolen explosives linked here:
http://www.google.com/search?q=High+Explosives+Theft&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=terrorist+cells+waiting+for+the+call+to+action&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=com.netscape%3Aen-US&q=terrorist+cells+waiting+for+the+call+to+action+in+U.S.&btnG=Search
check this later:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=com.netscape%3Aen-US&q=terrorist+cells+waiting+for+the+call+to+action+in+Amerika&btnG=Search
http://www.google.com/search?q=If+the+United+States+builds+relationships+in+Latin+America%2C+it+may+find+some&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=Taino+groups+in+many+parts+of+the+United+States&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=Egyptian+Islamic+Jihad+and+Al-Qaeda+were+operating+in+the+tri-border+area&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=Jihadists+and+Terrorists+in+South+America&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=SOUTH+AMERICA%27S+TERROR+FINANCIAL+CENTER&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=terrorists+expand+S.+America+operations&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=gather+intelligence+for+counterterrorism+operations&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=South+American+hub+of+Arab+terrorism&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=Terrorist+and+Organized+Crime+Groups+in+the+Tri-Border+Area&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=The+TBA+and+Global+Terrorism&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=TBA%2C+South+America%27s+busiest+contraband+and+smuggling+center%2C+is+home+to+a+large%2C+active+Arab+and+Muslim+community&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
xxxx
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.netscape:en-US&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=1&q=ties+between+Panama%27s+Muslim+community+and+terrorist+groups&spell=1
XXXto check:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Investigators+said+they+have+also+uncovered+numerous+ties+between+SAAR+entities&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
I admit defeat, there is no end to these googles, and I got too far away from schools, so will just dump and restart, another time.
www.iwpr.net
KURDISTAN BOLSTERED BY INFLUX OF ARAB ACADEMICS
Higher education in Baghdad and other troubled cities dealt a blow as
lecturers flee sectarian violence for the Kurdish north.
By Zaineb Naji in Baghdad and Firman abdul-Rahman in Sulaimaniyah
Ali abdul-Wahab, 50, a Shia, used to teach engineering at Baghdad
Technical University, but then one day he started to receive threats
from
Sunni radicals who control his Sunni- majority neighborhood of
al-Jamia'a.
"I can't live or work here anymore,” said the lecturer, two of whose
colleagues have been killed by extremists. He decided to leave the
capital for Sulaimaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan, where he now teaches at
the
city’s university
Academic life in Baghdad and other strife-torn cities has almost come
to a halt because many academic staff have either gone abroad or moved
to safer provinces - some 200 lecturers and assistant lecturers have
left the capital for the relatively-stable Kurdish north.
Insurgents seem to have declared war on the country’s educational
elite - 280 lecturers and other academics have been killed since Saddam
was ousted in April 2003. There were more casualties this week, when
insurgents attacked Mustansiriyah University, killing at least 70
students
and staff members and wounding 138, in the deadliest violence in the
country so far this year.
Last October, militants declared that lecturers and students would be
targeted unless they stayed away from their colleges. For some weeks,
the number of students dropped dramatically. Slowly, though, they
started
to come back, however the attacks and threats did not stop.
In November, the dean of the College of Economics was assassinated. And
then a few days later, a number of higher education ministry employees
were abducted in broad daylight by gunmen masquerading as ministry of
interior forces.
Universities remain open but are more or less deserted. For although
campuses are guarded by police and army, staff and students still feel
like easy prey for militants once they leave the premises.
Abdul-Wahab rented a house for his family in Sulaimaniyah and says he
settled down well, "I feel comfortable working here. Colleagues trust
me
fully, and relations between Arab and Kurdish lecturers are
wonderful.”
Some faculties in Baghdad are on the edge of closing down because
almost all the lecturers have left. At the College of Pharmacology,
staff
numbers have fallen from 12 to two, with missing personnel replaced by
recently graduated teachers.
Salahaddin University in Erbil was for many years the only university
in the northern part of the country. After the Kurdish uprising in
March
1991, when the northern provinces of Sulaimaniya, Erbil and Dohuk
acquired semi-autonomous status, two new universities were opened in
Sulaimaniyah and Dohuk.
The new Kurdish universities mainly depended on local and expat Kurdish
academics because they had no connection with universities in the rest
of Iraq.
After 2003, the relocation of Arab lecturers reinvigorated academic
life there, prompting the Kurdish education authorities to expand
several
colleges to meet growing local demand for higher education.
"If those [Arab] lecturers hadn’t come, teaching at Sulaimaniyah
University would have been problematic," said Aras Dartash, dean of the
College of Economy and Administration. At this college alone, there are
11
lecturers and assistant lecturers from central and southern Iraq.
He said they were a great help, especially in supervising masters and
doctoral students.
The Kurdistan Regional Government seeks to encourage Arab lecturers to
relocate by offering them financial incentives. Individuals are handed
bonuses of 300,000 Iraqi dinars (200 US dollars) while those who bring
their families receive an additional 500,000 dinars as a housing
subsidy.
But there is a downside to the trend, and not only the obvious one that
higher education in other parts of the country suffers.
Many young Kurdish university students have a poor grasp of Arabic
because during the period of autonomous rule in the Nineties many
studied
only in Kurdish.
Aryan Qadir, a student at the College of Economy and Administration,
failed a course in a topic that an Arab lecturer taught. "We know these
lecturers are experienced but we don't understand them because they
teach in Arabic," he said.
Dartash defends the employment of Arab lecturers, insisting that only
some undergraduates are affected by language difficulties and
translators will soon be employed to assist them. Other colleges
overcome this
problem by teaching in English.
However, it’s not only language that’s a source of trouble. "Some
Arab lecturers bring up political and sectarian issues that hurt the
feelings of Kurdish students," complained Sarkawt Khidhir, a dentistry
student. He recalls a dispute about the Saddam trial with one lecturer
who called the case unfair - which upset the students, many of whom are
from families who fell victim to Saddam’s campaign against the Kurds.
In general, though, most here agree that the relocation of Arab
lecturers has more pros than cons for higher education in the Kurdistan
region. Faraydoon Muheddin, deputy dean of the dentistry faculty at
Sulaimaniyah University, where twelve Arab lecturers teach, values
their
academic skills highly. "They have been very useful,” he said,
pointing out
that they fill gaps in expertise.
For Baghdad students, the exodus of their lecturers is a real tragedy.
Those who go are usually replaced by young, inexperienced assistant
lecturers - and right now there aren’t enough senior teaching staff
to
supervise masters and doctoral candidates.
Ayad Abdullah, a masters student at Baghdad University’s science
faculty, said he’s been through three supervisors so far. "My first,
the
head of the biology department, was killed, and the second left for
Erbil University," he said. "It is a real major loss of scientific
expertise.”
Zaineb Naji and Firman abdul-Rahman are IWPR contributors in Iraq.
[a good place to watch the Linvinenko death on:]
19.01.2007
Eurasian Secret Services Daily Review
AIA
Litvinenko was murdered by a killer with three false passports
Oleg Gordievsky (photo: NTV)
Oleg Gordievsky
AIA reported exactly a month ago that Scotland Yard investigators had
some information about the possible killer of the Russian ex-security
service officer Alexander Litvinenko, according to former agent of KGB
in Britain Oleg Gordievsky. He told his version to Radio Liberty this
week again.
Gordievsky said that, already in the first days of the probe, Scotland
Yard detected some illegal visitor, who arrived in London from Hamburg
under the forged documents November 1. The man, a professional killer,
arrived in Heathrow under the forged EU passport to pass unnoticed.
Then
the killer changed the passport for another passport of the EU. He left
the same night after Litvinenko’s poisoning (or perhaps, early next
day), using the third passport, Gordievsky said, specifying the
detectives have a photo of the possible killer taken by the airport’s
surveillance cameras. His first passport was photographed as well.
Russian online paper Gazeta.ru wrote earlier that this man was
mentioned
in the papers, showed to Litvinenko by his Italian contact Mario
Scaramella on November 1. A former spetsnaz member of the military
counterintelligence, GRU, named Igor, 46, was mentioned in the dossier,
allegedly delivered from Russia. His surname is not disclosed in
interests of investigation.
Last month, AIA wrote, referring to the Italian newspaper Corriere
della
Sera, that an eventual name of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service
expert in covert operations might be Igor Vlasov. The British media
outlets have reported that he is easy limps (after a car crash),
perfectly knows English and Portuguese, and also the judo, has some
passports and carries out functions of a professional killer.
Later,
owing to leakages, it became known that the suspect stopped in the
beginning of November in one of the London hotels. Some editions
believe
that this person is involved also in the murder of the investigative
journalist of the Russian Novaya gazeta, Anna Politkovskaya. It is not
excluded that the man Gordievsky spoke about, and a certain Igor is one
and the same person.
Gordievsky’s conclusions partly coincide with the version of Andrei
Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun, who met with Litvinenko on the day he fell
fatally ill, they had put forward in their justification. As it was
found out later, radiation had appeared in places Kovtun visited in
Hamburg, Germany. Kovtun and Lugovoy explained the polonium trace with
the alleged fact that the real murderer of Litvinenko wished to bring
them under suspicion and followed them. According to Gordievsky, the
Scotland Yard inspectors have believed the both witnesses, Gazeta.ru
says.
Meanwhile, Gibson Square Books, a British publishing house, is
reissuing
Litvinenko's Blowing Up Russia, a controversial book and the first of a
slew of planned editions that will carry the dead man's anti-Kremlin
allegations around the world, as The Associated Press puts it.
http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1199
Times: Film-maker fears returning to Russia (R.Beeston)
The Times
January 20, 2007
Film-maker fears returning to Russia
Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor
A Russian documentary-maker and friend of Alexander Litvinenko, said
yesterday that he feared for his safety after being warned “not to
make
anti-Russian films”.
Andrei Nekrasov, who has just finished a documentary for BBC2, on the
Litvinenko murder, said that relatives in Russia had received the
threat
this week from “an old friend”.
“I am concerned for my safety,” he told The Times. “I do not know
if it
is safe for me to return to my home in St Petersburg.”
Mr Nekrasov was close to Litvinenko and visited him regularly in
hospital after his poisoning with radioactive polonium-210. His film
for
Storyville "My Friend Sacha: a Very Russian Murder" is said to be a
powerful indictment of the authoritarianism of President Putin’s
Russia.
It includes an interview with Litvinenko’s widow, Marina, and footage
implicating the Kremlin in the attempted murder of Boris Berezovsky, a
Russian oligarch who has been granted asylum in Britain.
Mr Nekrasov has also contributed to "Panorama, How to Poison a Spy", on
BBC1, which will also be shown on Monday evening.
It will not name the murderer, but it is expected to implicate the
Russian authorities in Litvinenko’s poisoning.
The two programmes will anger the Kremlin, which claims that the
Western
media is biased against Mr Putin. Russia denies any involvement in
Litvinenko’s killing.
# Hollywood studios are in a race to bring out the first film on the
murder of Alexander Litvinenko. Michael Mann, who was behind Miami Vice
and The Aviator, and Columbia Pictures offered $1.5 million for the
rights to Death of a Dissident — written by the agent’s widow,
Marina.
They face competition from Johnny Depp’s company who want to film
Sasha’s Story: The Life and Death of a Russian Dissident, written by
Alan Cowell, the New York Times London bureau chief. A third film
Blowing Up Russia is being developed by the Beverley Hills-based Braun
Entertainment Group. and is a spy thriller based on Litvinenko’s own
book alleging that President Putin ordered his agents to blow up
apartment blocks in Moscow and blame it on Chechen separatists.
Kremlin officials have let it be known they will take steps to ban all
three productions from being seen in Russia.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2556475,00.html
CK: Great Britain: Russia will hardly have Zakaev extradited
Caucasian Knot / Memorial
19/1/2007
Great Britain: Russia will hardly have Zakaev extradited
Russia will have more difficulties to achieve a reconsideration of
requests on extradition of the Russians who were granted asylum in
Great
Britain. This was stated on January 18 by spokesmen of the Crown
Prosecution Service for England and Wales at a meeting with
journalists.
Answering a question about a possible fate of new requests on
extradition of businessman Boris Berezovskiy and the emissary of the
Chechen separatists Ahmed Zakaev, Mr. Ken McDonald, head of the Crown
Prosecution Service, reminded that both Russians were granted asylum in
Great Britain.
Ahmed Zakaev, emissary and minister for foreign affairs of the
self-proclaimed "Republic of Ichkeria," resides in London since
December
5, 2002, where he arrived from Denmark, which had refused to give him
out to Russia, since found the documents submitted by the Russian party
insufficient. Since then, Russia it trying to get Mr. Zakaev extradited
from Britain.
http://eng.kavkaz.memo.ru/newstext/engnews/id/1173048.html
Russia Ends High Alert Status Following Apparent Terror Threat
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,244983,00.html
Russia Ends High Alert Status Following Apparent Terror Threat
Friday, January 19, 2007
MOSCOW --- Russia's security body on Friday formally ended a high
alert
announced earlier this week over a threat of terror attack.
Nikolai Patrushev, the Federal Security Service chief who also chairs
the National Anti-Terror Committee, ordered the alert to be ended as of
early Friday, a duty officer at the agency said on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The alert involved thousands of extra police deployed at Moscow subway
and other public transport facilities around the nation.
continued............
Click here for more news on the global War on Terror.
A BRITISH MUSLIM MANIFESTO FOR 2007
http://muslim-minorities.blogspot.com/2006/12/british-muslim-manifesto-for-2007.html
A BRITISH MUSLIM MANIFESTO FOR 2007
The year is 2007, and we begin again in earnest. 2006 was a
particularly
difficult year for British Muslim communities, no less so than 2005. So
what went wrong again? 2006 saw a number of high profile arrests of
Muslims, Forest Gate in June 2006, the foiled terror plot of August
2006
and the Jack Straw Niqab debacle are some of the most memorable. The
political and media fuss in relation to these debates was vast,
expansive and ultimately deleterious for society as a whole. The
hugely-anticipated speech by Tony Blair on multiculturalism in December
2006 was a flat, unexciting, but ultimately safe set of words. The
international scene in 2006 did not help either. We have many Muslims
dying everyday in Iraq, Palestine, Kashmir and Chechnya, and still the
wider western world waits in the wing. The July 2006 invasion of
Lebanon
and the use of chemical weapons by Israeli armed forces are quickly
forgotten. Today, Tony Blair wants to solve the Palestinian crises, but
what can he achieve when he is so closely tied to George Bush's own
politico-ideological agenda. The answer is very little is likely to be
done in this regard, and that the British media and political
institutions will still focus on Muslims as the problem, not society
itself. So what do this mean for British Muslims in 2007? In my efforts
to intellectualise the concerns I look at social, economic, political,
cultural and intellectual issues. And I am seeing some changes, but not
enough for my liking.
First, the position of Muslim women is still woeful. Of course much has
to do with majority society but it also has to do with Muslim men. The
arguments are well rehearsed but suffice to say that in the Arab world
before Islam women had plenty of freedoms but no rights. They fought
wars, battles, traded blows with men. They successfully traded,
bargained and exchanged goods and services with men. When Islam came
along, women got less freedom but plenty of rights. Today, here in
Britain or in the wider Arab world, Muslim women have little to feel
confident about. In the current climate Muslims cannot flourish without
half of the Ummah in chains. So men, get your act together, and soon.
Second, it relates to the economic issues too, with only one in five
Muslim who can work that do work, we are significantly
under-represented. Work is not just about incomes so one can afford
luxury items but it is a social, cultural and intellectual sphere of
activity which builds upon the 'capitals' people have. On average,
Muslim men do not fare as well in the labour market as non-Muslim men,
but much here is also to do with self-employment, under-employment and
long-term health problems. Muslims certainly need to broaden beyond
limited occupational choices, and the educational directions often used
to get them there. There are some bright Muslim women, who have the
confidence to take any man on and win, and this is good. But, they are
few and far between and more are needed.
Third, politically, it is not enough to simply to leave matters to the
few, and I cannot emphasise enough the importance of Muslim men and
women actively engaging in the political sphere, as without it there is
little hope in making an impact on policy and practice. 'If you are not
part of the solution, you are part of the problem', was a slogan
bounded
about when global warming issues were first became apparent in the
1980s. It applies today in many different ways, no less so in relation
to Muslims in Britain. By remaining outside of politics, there is no
recognition of the concerns that people face, there is no suggestion of
actively consulting such disfranchised groups, and there is no
suggestion of working together to determine positive outcomes. But, at
the same, with the recent decline in support for the 'War on Terror',
with the FCO now dropping the lingua franca altogether, a whole host of
half-baked Muslim political leaders are rushing to fill the vacuum left
by first generations in retreat and central government attempts to
bring
on new people into its fray. These Muslim aficionados are a potential
risk because they are wanting to reproduce themselves, are
short-termist
thinkers and are prepared to use the models of crocked cronyism that so
inflicted first generation leaders. Admittedly, from the early 1980s
onwards these first generation Muslims leaders in such paces as
Bradford, Manchester and Birmingham were comprehensively exploited by
the labour party for their abilities to return bloc votes, particularly
in local councils. That the not so new labour party of today works in
the same not so mysterious ways is of little surprise. Some Muslim
politicos may feel it is the only way to get representative office or a
junior cabinet post but as Faust discovered, sell your soul to the
Devil
and there is no return.
Fourth, that dreaded word, culture. What do Muslims do in relation to
culture? Not a lot, unless it is orientated with 'back home'
initiatives. How is culture positively used by Muslims as a way in
which
to engage in dialogue, interaction, exchange or relations with others?
Not meaningfully, if at all. Britain, for all its failings, is still
one
of the most open, tolerant and liberal societies in Western Europe. Try
living in Denmark, France, Germany and Italy and you will find out. So
why do British Muslim fall down when we introduce culture? The issues
are complex but suffice to say the Muslims of Britain are
heterogeneous,
and are further differentiated in terms of social class and region.
Poorer uneducated Muslims in the north and midlands do not have the
'capital', the confidence or wherewithal. Richer educated Muslims in
the
south do, and they often lead what little there is in terms of this
presence. More effort needs to be made by people outside of London to
engage with culture, and to explore what British cultures are akin to
Muslim cultures, and there are plenty of examples today, i.e., direct
progressive taxation, adoption and fostering services, welfare payments
for the old and infirm, universities, hospitals, and so on.
Finally, my biggest bug bear, the issue of the intellectual. I can
count
on one hand the number of high profile Muslim thinkers who are I regard
as notable. Interestingly, they are often regarded as not Muslim enough
by many other Muslims who would seek the same mantle. When are Muslims
going to learn not to be so darn critical of others when they cannot
see
their own limitations in relative terms? When are Muslims going to
realise that asking tough questions and about man's and god's laws is
not heretical? After all, we were occupied by these questions
throughout
the history of Islam, and will continue to do so. We need to look
forward, not back. Think positively, not negatively. Be progressive,
not
regressive. Be open, not closed. Islam was ripe for dehumanising,
oppressing and subjugating when we as Muslims closed the doors of
individual interpretation, when we were decadent and debauched. We are
ripe for the picking today if we continue to remove ourselves for the
public sphere and regard non-Muslims as unworthy of our considerations.
We will achieve a successful Islam, here in Britain and everywhere else
in the world, when we return to humanity. And, the sooner, the better.
posted by Dr Tahir Abbas # Friday, December 22, 2006
Rosoboronexport appointed Russia's sole arms exporter
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070119/59395503.html
Rosoboronexport appointed Russia's sole arms exporter
21:41 | 19/ 01/ 2007
Print version
MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian president has issued a
decree appointing Russia's state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport as
the sole agency authorized to trade military-purpose products
internationally, the Kremlin press service said Friday.
The decree allows other Russian companies that have until now operated
on the world arms market to see their current contracts through, but
they may not sign any new ones in the future.
"Such a privilege may only be granted at the discretion of the Russian
president," the document says.
Vladimir Putin's decree also provides for special measures to secure
funding for programs to develop state-of-the-art arms and military
equipment.
Chechnya anti-terrorism center officers accused of robberies
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070119/59371599.html
Chechnya anti-terrorism center officers accused of robberies
15:13 | 19/ 01/ 2007
MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - A criminal case against
anti-terrorism center officers in Chechnya accused of committing 21
robberies in Grozny has been passed on to the North Caucasus republic's
Supreme Court, police said Friday.
The gang, which was active in Grozny between December 2005 and May
2006,
attacked apartments at night. A total of 59 people have been identified
as victims of the gang, with total damages estimated at more than 2
million rubles ($75,400).
"During the investigation, it was established that an officer of the
Chechen Republic's anti-terrorism center set up an armed group from
among his colleagues and acquaintances in December 2005.
"During their attacks, the bandits used Kalashnikov assault rifles,
Makarov handguns, ammunition, military uniforms and equipment provided
to them by the anti-terrorism center," police said.
A police spokesman said the bandits would announce themselves as
officers with the organized crime department, charged with checking
passports. He said they would burst into apartments and rob city
residents of household appliances, jewels and cash, beating anyone who
resisted.
[unknown url]
Training jet crashes in western Panola County
COLUMBUS, Miss.(AP) - Two airmen aboard a Columbus Air Force Base
training
jet apparently ejected safely Thursday before their plane crashed in
rural
Panola County, officials said.
Columbus Air Force Base said in a statement two people were aboard the
T-38C
trainer at the time of the accident. Officials in Panola County and
state
troopers said they understood the pilots had ejected but had no
information
on their conditions.
Billy Davis, a reporter with The Weekly Panolian newspaper, went to the
scene in western Panola County; he said he saw both pilots and neither
appeared to be injured.
The base said the jet went down about 40 miles south of Memphis while
the
pilots were conducting a low-level training exercise.
Davis said the plane's wreckage was located approximately 100 yards
from
Curtis Road. He said he did not see a fire.
The base said a board of officers will investigate the accident.
[Have you noticed, that when our Military planes fall out of the sky, so does India and Saudi planes???]
Indian Air Force Jet Crash; Pilot Killed
JODHPUR: A pilot was killed in an Indian Air Force Jaguar bomber jet
crash
Thursday in the northern desert state of Rajasthan, officials and
witnesses
said.
The British-built aircraft took off from a military airbase in Bikaner
district and reportedly caught fire in midair and exploded on impact
with
the ground in a village in the tourism town of Jaisalmer, eyewitnesses
said,
adding the pilot had died.
Air force officials said the deep penetration bomber aircraft was on a
"live
firing exercise" in the desert state.
There were no casualties on the ground.
Thursday's crash is the second since November last year, when a
Russian-built MiG-23 crashed in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
The Indian Air Force's ageing fleet has been plagued by crashes,
particularly involving the Russian-made MiGs.
http://www.pakistantimes.net/2007/01/19/top15.htm
Crash Highlights Cockpit Conversations
WASHINGTON - The crash of a commuter jet that took off from the wrong
runway
in Lexington, Ky., last summer has thrown a spotlight on the FAA's
"sterile
cockpit" rule _ a commonly violated and difficult-to-enforce
prohibition
against extraneous conversation between the pilots.
The pilots of the Comair flight in Lexington were heard talking about
their
dogs, their kids and job opportunities just before the plane went down
in
flames after struggling to get airborne from a runway that was too
short.
The crash killed 49 of the 50 people aboard in the nation's deadliest
aviation disaster in five years.
Comair acknowledged that pilots Jeffrey Clay and James Polehinke
violated
sterile cockpit procedures after federal investigators released a
transcript
Wednesday of their conversation.
Investigators have not said what role, if any, the cockpit chatter
played in
the Aug. 27 crash. But several other air disasters have been blamed, at
least in part, on instances in which pilots were too busy talking about
things other than flying.
Among them:
_ A 2004 crash in Kirksville, Mo., that killed 13 of 15 people aboard a
commuter airliner was blamed on the crew's nonstop joking and
expletive-laden banter in the cockpit.
_ In 1988, a Delta Air Lines jet crashed 22 seconds after takeoff from
Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport after the crew failed to set
the
wing flaps properly. Fourteen people were killed. In the minutes before
takeoff, the crew members criticized Marilyn Quayle's looks, said of
Jesse
Jackson, "You know, it's scary that someone like him could get as far
as he
did," and joked that a crash would one day make their cockpit
conversation
public.
The Federal Aviation Administration adopted the sterile cockpit rule in
1981. It was prompted in part by a 1974 crash in Charlotte, N.C., that
killed 71 people; the pilots were talking about politics while making
their
landing approach in bad weather. The rule prohibits extraneous
conversation
during taxi, takeoff and landing and operations below 10,000 feet.
Aviation insiders say the rule is often disobeyed.
"You can't really expect human beings to be robots," said Bill Waldock,
a
professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. "A
little bit of nonpertinent conversation, I'd say it happens quite
frequently."
Moreover, the rule is not easily enforceable.
Contract rules prohibit the FAA and airline from releasing _ or even
preserving _ the cockpit recordings unless there has been an accident.
In
fact, if not for the Comair crash, the tape of the chatter would have
been
erased before anyone ever listened to it.
"Ninety-nine percent of the time the cockpit voice recorder is never
listened to," said Faron Collins, a Lexington control tower operator
who
worked the shift immediately after the crash. "It probably happens more
than
the FAA would care to talk about."
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said agency enforces the rule with regular
ride-along inspections and anonymous incident reports that pilots can
file
about one another.
"We're not there to watch every mechanic turn every screw, and we're
not
there to listen to every cockpit crew listen to one another," Brown
said.
Violators may be punished with a letter of correction, a civil penalty,
or a
suspension or revocation of their pilots' license, Brown said. She had
no
immediate figures on how often pilots are disciplined for
sterile-cockpit
violations.
As the Comair pilots went through preflight procedures, Clay talked
about
his young children having colds, Polehinke _ the sole survivor _
discussed
his four dogs. The two men also talked about pay and working
conditions,
even as the controller occasionally interrupted to provide
instructions.
Polehinke has not been stripped of his license. He lost a leg and
suffered
brain damage and has told relatives he remembers nothing about the
accident.
Representatives of the Air Line Pilots Association declined to comment
on
sterile cockpit rules, citing the National Transportation Safety Board
investigation.
David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, an
airline
industry group, said airlines "don't have any indications this has
become a
growing problem."
Robert Clifford, a lawyer representing several victims' family members
from
the Kentucky crash, said the chatter reminds him of a 1994 American
Eagle
crash in Indiana. In that crash, a flight attendant had a lengthy chat
with
one of the pilots in the cockpit. That crash killed 68 people.
"I believe it happens all the time," Clifford said. "There's an adage,
`No
harm, no foul.' Some level or measure of personal, non-work-based
conversation is normal. There comes a point of time where game is on,
and
we're focused on our work."
Lowell Wiley, a Lexington flight instructor, said that even after
decades in
the cockpit, sometimes the sterile cockpit rule slips his mind.
"Occasionally I'll forget about it and say something," Wiley said.
"Things
do come up and you'll say something. There's a lot of that going on."
Ray Rowhuff, who spent 20 years flying for the Kansas Army National
Guard
and worked as a flight examiner, said of professional pilots: "It's
like
people driving down the road and talking on the phone, putting on
lipstick
or putting on your trousers. Everybody knows you shouldn't do that, but
they
do."
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/01/19/ap/us/d8mo036g1.txt
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