Posted on 12/17/2006 4:03:30 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
Records the earthquakes for Southern California:
http://www.scsn.org/commentary/
MI5 warns on home-grown terror
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23382705-details/MI5+warns+on+home-grown+terror/article.doMI5 warns on home-grown terror23.01.07
Britain is no safer today than it was on the day of the 7/7 bombings
because of the upsurge in home-grown terrorism triggered by the Iraq
and Afghan wars, intelligence chiefs have warned.
Despite the enormous extra resources that have been poured into the
war on terror, they fear the relentless increase in threats to the UK
have left MI5 overstretched.
"Society isn't safer today," a senior source claimed. "We are
containing the threat but we are not gaining on it."
The revelation that MI5 believes the invasion of Iraq is behind the
terror threat is an embarrassing blow to Tony Blair.
He has steadfastly refused to accept that his foreign policy has
inspired attempts at home and abroad to attack the UK.
Military chiefs, senior civil servants and most ministers now believe
that the Prime Minister's decision to back George Bush and go to war
has radicalised young Muslims and encouraged terrorism.
But one intelligence source said: "The 2003 invasion triggered it all,
but that's a reality we can't say in public."
Whitehall sources say that despite the secretive agency's best
efforts, the volume of terror plots being monitored has stretched its
resources to the limits.
The Security Service's leadership believes the increase has been
fuelled by Britain's involvement in the war in Iraq.
There is also evidence that young Britons of Afghan origin are
becoming radicalised as a result of Britain's high-profile involvement
in the fight against the Taliban.
Late last year, MI5 chief Dame Eliza Manningham- Buller said her 3,000
agents were tracking 200 plots involving 1,600 young British muslims,
including 30 Priority 1' conspiracies to cause mass murder.
MI5 is expected to reach 3,800 staff by next year, but is still having
to make daily decisions about which information to prioritise.
Experts say the level of resources needed to keep every potential
suspect under surveillance would amount to creating a Soviet-style
police state. Dame Eliza subsequently surprised MPs by announcing that
she will stand down in April after 33 years with the service and four
years in charge, sparking claims that she jumped before she was pushed.
Her friends say she had told the then Home Secretary Charles Clarke of
her decision to quit in 2005, before the July bombings.
But some officials claim she was growing increasingly frustrated by
the "demands of Labour politicians" and wanted to get out before what
is expected to be a painful time for the service. The Daily Mail has
been told that MI5 fears being used as a "political football" by
ministers following her resignation.
The Secret Intelligence Service – MI6 – suffered a devastating blow to
its reputation over claims that it allowed Downing Street to
exaggerate the threat posed by Saddam Hussein in the so-called "dodgy
dossier".
The admission that MI5 is finding it a challenge to keep up with the
spread of Islamic extremists comes ahead of what are likely to be
searching questions about its performance in coming weeks.
The counter-terrorism budget has soared to £2billion and MI5 has seen
its staff nearly double since the attacks on America in September 2001.
The Security Service is bracing itself for a barrage of criticism when
details of how much it knew about the July 7 bombers comes to light.
It has launched a damage limitation exercise in an attempt to give its
version of the events that led to the attacks.
MI5 had the ringleaders of the attacks that killed 52 people in London
in 2005 under surveillance 18 months before, but did not discover
their significance until it was too late.
Critics say it should have reacted better to evidence that Mohammed
Siddique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer posed a threat.
But MI5 insists they were clean skins' – not known suspects – and not
enough was known about them to justify using limited resources to keep
them under constant surveillance.
January 23, 2007 PM Anti-Terrorism News
(Iraq) Helicopter down in Baghdad; 5 killed
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070123/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_070123210518
(Iraq) Military: Four held in sneak attack on U.S. in Iraq - Karbala
raid killed 5 U.S. troops
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/01/23/Iraq.main/index.html
Iraqi, U.S. forces discuss Operation Turki Bowl - DOD release: 10-day
op killed over 100 terrorists, captured 50, found 1,100 RPG rounds and
launchers
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9383&Itemid=132
(Iraq) Report: 600 Iraqi militants in custody - US military captured
600 of Shiite Muslim Mehdi Army in past 45 days
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/23099.html
Update: (Lebanon) Hezbollah Protests paralyze Lebanon, 3 killed, 133
hurt
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070123/wl_nm/lebanon_government_dc_22
(Lebanon) Opposition Demonstrations in Lebanon and the Paris III
Conference
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/01/opposition_demonstrations_in_l.php
Hizbullah Uses Allies To Store Rockets
http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2007/january/01_24_3.html
(Iran) U.S. warns Iran to back down - second U.S. aircraft carrier
strike group en route
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070123/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_us_3
Iran dismisses nuclear sanctions as ineffective
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070123/wl_mideast_afp/irannuclearpoliticsun_070123160908
Iran and International Trade Impacting Domestic Politics (my title)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/21/nriran21.xml
Scant evidence found of Iran-Iraq arms link - LA Times: Little actual
evidence despite claims by military and intel officials
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraniraq23jan23,0,4316481.story?coll=la-home-world
Israeli court orders deported US imam released - Fawaz Damra, former
imam of Ohio's biggest mosque, remains in custody 2 days
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467797767&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
U.S. officials say they'll keep Maher Arar on their security watch list
- Maher Arar shipped to Syria by US authorities
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9htfMTYi7ZFvo0AHjHQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTBjdmNoOTVjBHBvcwMyBHNlYwNzcg--/SIG=12kc2lq4j/EXP=1169677656/**http%3a//ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/070122/national/us_cda_arar_2
Islamic Jihad terrorist candidate for new PA 'Interior Minister' -
Khader Abbas spent 14 years in prison
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/1592
(UK) British bomb plot suspects "planned jihad" - Seven Britons accused
of plotting to bomb clubs, trains and synagogues in UK also planned
Jihad in Pakistan and Afghanistan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070123/wl_nm/britain_bombs_dc_1
(UK) Muslims in police will rise up, Bakri insists
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/21/nhate21.xml
(UK) Dramatic Video: Bomb Aimed at Mother, Child
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/01/dramatic_video_.html
(UK 7/21 Terror Trial) Timeline: 'bomb plot' trial
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6272185.stm
(Philippines) Battle was won by 27 Marines vs 200 Abus - Account of
Sept. 4 battle which killed Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=45272
Gingrich: '3 nuclear bombs are second Holocaust'
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467797900&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(Spain) Date set for Madrid terror trial - February 15 - 29 suspects
implicated in the March 2004 Madrid train bombings
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6291435.stm
Update: (India) Three ULFA bomb explosions in Assam, 12 injured
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200701232010.htm
(Canada) Hamas warns Canada making enemies of Palestinians, says report
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourview/world/2007/01/hamas_warns_canada_making_enem.html
Canada demands US take Canadian off terror list: Maher Arar
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467798608&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Mexico Holding 11 Iraqis With Fake Papers - None of the Iraqi citizens
appear on terrorist watch lists and they told authorities they were
Chaldean Christians trying to get to California were they would request
asylum
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,245863,00.html
FOX: Thwarted Al Qaeda in Iraq Plot Would Have Smuggled Terrorists Into
United States on Student Visas
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,245682,00.html
(Black Panthers) Radicals arrested in 1971 cop slaying, police say -
the suspects were members of the Black Liberation Army
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/01/23/cold.case.ap/index.html
Did you note an American passenger flight in the last couple of days where everyone suddenly began to have burning eyes? Another test?
Two hotels have had people falling sick, one evacuated. These events all a bit different from similar Legionnaire's disease incidents.
Would it not be interesting for someone to start a thread where Freepers could report "unusual" but outwardly "innocent" events that could equally be a terrorist test performed to look innocent?
Could be garnered from their local press or MSM.
Russia suspends probe in bid to break stalemate over Litvinenko
By Neil Buckley in Moscow and Jimmy Burns in London
The Financial Times, Published: January 23 2007 02:00 | Last updated:
January 23 2007 02:00
Russian prosecutors have suspended a probe into Boris Berezovsky,
accused of planning a coup in Russia, in what the exiled oligarch said
was a bid to persuade British authorities to allow Russian
investigators to interview him over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.
Mr Berezovsky's Moscow lawyer said yesterday prosecutors told him they
had suspended a criminal case they opened a year ago, after the exiled
Russian told a radio station he was planning to overthrow President
Vladimir Putin's government.
The Russian move is being viewed in Moscow and London as an attempt to
break a diplomatic stalemate holding up the investigation into last
November's death of Litvinenko - a former KGB officer and associate of
Mr Berezovsky - by poisoning with polonium-210.
The FT learnt separately yesterday that UK police investigating the
case were close to submitting a file to the Crown Prosecution Service
thought to identify individuals they suspect of involvement in
Litvinenko's murder. While no one has been charged yet, the CPS will
need to consider whether there are reasonable grounds for a
prosecution in a British court.
British police have been reluctant to agree to Russian requests to
question several exiles including Mr Berezovsky and Akhmed Zakayev, a
member of the shadow rebel "government" of Chechnya. Police believed
there was no evidence linking the exiles to the Litvinenko case and
that the Russians were mainly interested in interviewing Mr Berezovsky
over other cases against him, including fraud charges.
According to Whitehall officials, the Russian requests have been held
up in the Home Office because the UK government was not satisfied that
the Russian requests were not "politically motivated".
Russia's chief prosecutor has hinted he will only grant a request by
British detectives to return to Moscow to pursue inquiries into
Litvinenko's death after Russian investigators have been allowed to
visit London.
Moscow has tried repeatedly to persuade the UK to extradite Mr
Berezovsky,who fled in 2000 and has been granted British asylum.
Senior Russian officials have suggested foreign-based enemies of
Russia were responsible for Litvinenko's death, in an effort to stir
up anti-Russian feeling internationally.
Aides to Mr Berezovsky say he has volunteered and given a statement to
British police denying involvement in Litvinenko's murder.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/
RFE/RL: Moscow Confronted With More Cases From Caucasus (C.Bigg)
Council Of Europe: Moscow Confronted With More Cases From Caucasus
By Claire Bigg
January 23, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Recent years have seen more and more cases
from war-ravaged Chechnya pass through the European Court of Human
Rights, as the court's first rulings in favor of abused Chechen
civilians prompt a stream of applications.
In 2006, Russian citizens filed some 12,000 complaints -- a fifth of
all
case sent to the court that year. In turn, the court was able to hand
down final judgments in just 102 cases.
Lost Family
One of those was brought by Marzet Imakayeva, a Chechen woman whose
husband and 25-year-old son both disappeared without a trace after
being
detained by Russian forces.
Imakayeva said witnesses saw Russian forces pick up her son in 2000 as
he returned from a shopping trip to a neighboring village. Her husband,
she says, was detained two years later.
"One morning, there was a terrible noise in our courtyard. Russian
troops, some with masks and others without, filled the whole
courtyard,"
Imakayeva told RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service. "They were searching
for
something, and they dug up everything. They put my husband into a car
and took him away.
"Since then, both my husband and son have been missing. Everywhere I
wrote, they told me they hadn't detained him. They sent middlemen to
ask
me to withdraw my complaint with the court. The middlemen said it was
dangerous and something could happen to me, too."
No Justice At Home
The threat did not deter Imakayeva from pursuing her case in
Strasbourg.
She is among the growing number of Chechen civilians who are looking to
the European Court of Human Rights to hold Russia to account for
atrocities committed by federal troops in the North Caucasus.
Many victims say the Strasbourg court is the only legitimate
alternative
to Russia's own corrupt and deeply flawed justice system.
Olga Vishnyovskaya, a Russian lawyer at the court, says most plaintiffs
are suing security forces for abducting and killing their loved ones.
"Unfortunately, a tendency can be observed -- there is a rather high
number of cases connected with disappearances," Vishnyovskaya said.
"They come from Chechnya and neighboring republics, Ingushetia for
instance; such cases have also been filed from Daghestan. Relatives
complain that their family members were detained by security
subdivisions that failed to identify themselves. These people then
disappear without a trace."
Russian human rights organizations estimate that between 3,000 and
5,000
people have disappeared and are feared dead in Chechnya since Russian
troops in 1999 launched a second campaign to crush Chechnya's
self-declared independence.
Held To Account
Suddenly, Russia is being forced to acknowledge the extent of the
atrocities. The year 2006 saw the first Strasbourg court rulings
holding
Russia responsible for civilian deaths in Chechnya.
The court ordered Russia to pay 90,000 euros ($116,500) in damages to
Imakayeva for the loss of her son and husband.
In another case, the court ordered Moscow to pay nearly 70,000 euros
($89,500) in damages to relatives of Nura Luluyeva, a nurse whose body
was found in a mass grave in 2001. She had been detained during a raid
on a Grozny market a year earlier. A forensic report established that
she had died of injuries resulting from severe beating.
In October 2006, the court found Russia responsible for the shooting
deaths of six Chechens, including a pregnant woman and a 3-year-old
child in February 2000.
And in the latest judgment, the Strasbourg court on January 18 ruled
that the Russian military tortured two Chechen brothers in 2000. Adam
and Arbi Chitayev say they were beaten with water bottles and
truncheons, and nearly strangled. Each brother was awarded 38,815 euros
($50,250) in compensation.
Compensation, But No Reform
Since Russia is a member of the Council of Europe, the court's
decisions
are binding, and Vishnyovskaya says Moscow has so far never failed to
pay.
But there is little sign that Russia is fulfilling the court's more
important demands -- to bring the perpetrators to justice and prevent
similar atrocities from happening again.
Svetlana Gannushkina, a prominent Russian rights campaigner, says
Strasbourg must do more to ensure Russia works toward correcting rights
violations.
"It's a rich government with big oil reserves. It pays these sums and
leaves it at that," Gannushkina said. "This is why it is crucial that
the European Court demands that the terms of judgment are fulfilled not
only with regard to material compensation, but also to all other parts
of the judgment. Unfortunately, we can't say this is being done very
efficiently."
An example of this is the case of Fatima Bazorkina, a Chechen woman who
sued the Russian government after she saw television footage of a
Russian officer ordering the execution of her son.
Strasbourg ruled in Bazorkina's favor, and awarded her 35,000 euros
($45,300) in damages and 12,241 euros ($15,850) for costs and expenses.
Even so, General Aleksandr Baranov, the man captured on camera giving
the order to kill her son, has since been awarded a Hero of Russia
medal
and is now in charge of all Russian troops in the North Caucasus.
Hostility, Resentment
Part of the problem lies in the hostility with which Russian political
circles view the Strasbourg court, whose judgments are sometimes seen
as
part of a broad anti-Russian campaign.
Russia is the only Council of Europe member not to have ratified a
document intended to help the European Court of Human Rights speed up
the processing of cases. The Russian parliament has rejected the
document, preventing it from coming into effect.
President Vladimir Putin, the man behind the second Chechen war,
himself
recently accused the court handing down "political" rulings.
At least one nongovernmental organization providing legal assistance to
victims of human rights abuse in the North Caucasus is coming under
pressure from the Russian government.
The Dutch-based Stichting Russian Justice Initiative, which is
currently
representing clients in more than 100 cases before the European Court
of
Human Rights, was informed by Moscow in November it lacked the
documentation needed to be legally registered in Russia.
No Slowdown
Still, cases continue to be filed to Strasbourg from the North
Caucasus.
Some 200 Chechen cases are currently pending at the court.
Even though the process of suing Russia has been strenuous and at times
even dangerous, Marzet Imakayeva nonetheless advises all mothers whose
children have disappeared to seek justice. "I would advise all mothers
to file complaints. If all of them complain, then maybe the Russians
will realize that they are gaining a reputation throughout the whole
world," she said.
"Maybe our children are being kept somewhere. I am convinced that these
mothers would gather the necessary documents for the court. But they
lack money and physical strength. One needs to travel constantly, knock
on a lot a doors. Otherwise, all the mothers would travel everywhere.
This is how cases remain unsolved."
http://rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/01/BA4D5420-54BE-4A29-A157-EBD88E84ACA4.html
Saudi court convicts 5 extremists for causing mayhem at play on moderation in Islam
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/23/africa/ME-GEN-Saudi-Play-Sentence.php
Saudi court convicts 5 extremists for causing mayhem at play on
moderation in Islam
CAIRO, Egypt: A Saudi court has convicted five Muslim extremists for
disrupting a university play advocating moderation in Islam, said the
lawyer of one defendant on Tuesday.
Mayhem of the likes rarely seen in Saudi Arabia's highly controlled
society ensued November last year during the play by students of Yemama
college. The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite TV channel broadcast
grainy footage Tuesday showing men in long white robes and checkered
headdresses throwing chairs and pushing one another on a stage.
The Criminal Court in Riyadh on Monday sentenced one defendant to two
months in prison, one to 45 days, one to 10 days and two to five days
for acts of violence, the lawyer of one of the defendants said. Eight
others were acquitted.
The attorney spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals
because the Saudi press did not report Monday's verdicts. It was not
clear why the newspapers did not report the court's verdicts.
But the Saudi press did report the clashes at the time of the incident.
Students, celebrating a "cultural week," were performing a play that
advocates moderation in Islam when several extremist students jumped on
the stage, destroyed the set, and attacked the performers before police
intervened, the reports said.
One newspaper at the time quoted Ahmed al-Issa, the dean of Yemama
college and the playwright, as saying the attacks began even before the
play started.
Another report quoted actor Habib al-Habib as describing the attackers
as "extremists who are trying to kill moderation."
Saudi leader King Abdullah, whose country applies a strict
interpretation Islamic law, has been calling for reforms and is trying
to foster an image of the kingdom beyond being the former home of
al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and a breeding ground for Islamic
extremism. Saudi Arabia was home to 15 of the 19 men who conducted the
Sept. 11 attacks.
Sofia to sue Libyans for torturing Bulgarian nurses
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200701/24/eng20070124_344088.html
Sofia to sue Libyans for torturing Bulgarian nurses
Sofia city prosecutor's office will initiate a lawsuit by the end of
the
month against 11 Libyans suspected of torturing five Bulgarian nurses
in
Tripoli, Sofia News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The defendants are charged with torturing the nurses to force them to
make confessions that they deliberately infected 426 Libyan children
with the HIV virus in 1999, the agency said.
If found guilty, the Libyans will face imprisonment from three to 10
years.
The five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor had been kept in
custody in Tripoli since 1999. Last December, a Libyan penal court
sentenced them to death for deliberately infecting the children.
The six have appealed to the Supreme Court, and a ruling is expected in
the next few weeks.
The nurses have said they were abused during interrogation, jolted with
electricity, beaten with sticks and repeatedly jumped on while being
strapped to their beds. Two of the women said they were raped.
The European parliament urged EU states last week to review ties with
Libya and step up pressure to secure the early release of the six
medical workers.
PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE REGRETS COURT'S INSISTENCE ON REVIEWING FILES
2007-01-23 12:23:01
Taipei. Jan. 23 (CNA) The Presidential Office expressed deep regret Tuesday over the Taipei District Court's insistence on unsealing three sets of document files concerning the alleged "special state affairs fund" misuse scandal.
If national interests and security fall victim to the court's move, it added, those who are behind the decision should be held accountable and dealt with in accordance with the law.
The document files in question include records of President Chen Shui-bian being questioned by Prosecutor Chen Jui-jen last August over his alleged misuse of his discretionary "state affairs fund," as well as documents submitted by the president to the prosecutor at that time.
The documents said to include those on six secret diplomatic missions financed by the "state affairs fund" were classified at the president's request after Chen Jui-jen completed his investigations to prevent the release of secret diplomatic information.
Whether the documents should be unsealed became a focus of debate between the prosecution and the defense after the trial of the alleged "state affairs fund" misuse case began last December.
First lady Wu Shu-jen was indicted on charges of corruption in early November for allegedly embezzling NT$14.8 million (US$449,642) from the "fund."
The district court ruled last Friday that the six diplomatic missions cited by the president as having used the "state affairs fund" are not "state secrets" as defined by the Classified National Security Information Protection Act.
Against this backdrop, the court further ruled that the previously classified documents will be unsealed for attorneys and prosecutors in charge of the case to review Jan. 23 if President Chen fails to offer an explanation as to the status of the documents by Jan. 22.
A Presidential Office spokesman said it is deplorable that the district court insists on opening the critical document files even after the Presidential Office clearly explained the issue Monday in terms of the fundamental principles and spirit of constitutional democracy.
If national security and interests are at stake, the spokesman said, those who are behind the court decision should be held responsible for any possible fallout.
In a letter Monday to the Taipei District Court, the Presidential Office wrote: "What the court requested to unveil are state secrets which should never be disclosed to avoid hobbling the country's security, image and overall well-being."
The letter further said that any disagreement over the "state secrets privilege" vested by the Constitution in the president to facilitate the execution of his official duties should be settled through procedures set forth in the Constitution.
President Chen himself is immune from prosecution while in office, but prosecutors claimed that there is sufficient evidence to pursue similar charges against him after he leaves office.
The lawyer-turned-president has denied any wrongdoing with regard to the "state affairs fund." But he promised that if his wife were to be found guilty in the first trial, he would resign. "I believe that history will return justice to me, and the judicial process will clear my name, " he said in a Nov. 5 televised speech.
(By Sofia Wu)
ENDITEM/Li
http://www.cna.com.tw/eng/topread.php?id=200701230009
http://www.cna.com.tw/eng/topread.php?id=200701240007
TAIWAN TO ENACT REFUGEE LAW
2007-01-24 11:57:51
Taipei, Jan. 24 (CNA) The Executive Yuan will review a draft bill on refugees at its last weekly meeting before the Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb. 18 this year, a senior official in charge of mainland affairs said Wednesday.
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman You Ying-lung said the draft bill, co-authored by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, if enacted, will apply to persecuted people from all over the world, including those from China, Hong Kong and Macau as well as all other countries.
Once the bill is formally enacted with the Legislative Yuan's approval, You said, those who were persecuted in their homeland or who have a well-founded fear of persecution there for political, religious or ethnic reasons can apply to Taiwanese authorities for refugee status and asylum.
Although Taiwan is not a party to the U.N.-sponsored Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees adopted in 1951, You said, the government is determined to enact a refugee law to deliver on its promise of promoting a rights-based national development approach and making human rights protection its core value and top guiding principle.
In drafting the law, You said, the Interior Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry referred to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and other globally accepted norms and regulations.
The Executive Yuan is expected to approve the draft bill after a thorough review at its Feb. 14 weekly meeting, You said, adding that the bill will then be referred to the legislature for deliberation and final approval.
After the bill takes effect, You said, foreigners as well as Chinese, Hong Kong and Macau citizens who fall victim to persecution on account of race, religion or political opinion can file applications with the Ministry of the Interior for refugee status.
If the applicants are certified as refugees through due process set forth in the law, You said, they can then apply for asylum or settlement.
As to whether having Chinese, Hong Kong and Macau citizens subject to the same refugee law as foreigners would ignite a new round of debate on the divisive "independence vs. unification" issue, You said that is not the government's main concern. "The key consideration in enacting a refugee law lies in the belief in the inextricable and interdependent link between human rights and development," You said.
Given that human rights define and defend human well-being, You added that a rights-based approach to development provides both the conceptual and practical framework for the realization of human rights through development process. "By enacting a refugee law, we'll show the world our determination to shoulder more international duties and make our human rights protection standards on par with global norms, " You added.
(By Sofia Wu)
enditem/Li
[A Chinese flight school in Australia]
http://news.nabou.com/cgi-bin/newsframe/437892yks4328903Dnabou2BInews421789994asgw3798etys6787/18A8047A97056E4D9B2CDA039BFF5E58backheadline3DHow2Bdo2BI2Bcut2Ba2Boout3Fnews26o3D0/FrameIt.cgi?Url=http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r780619301
Last Update: Wednesday, January 24, 2007. 1:08pm (AEDT)
Deal may see Chinese flight school operating locally
Maryborough and Hervey Bay councils have moved one step closer to securing an international flight school for the region.
A delegation from the Chinese Civil Aviation Flight University is visiting the region this week to see whether it is suitable for a new flight centre.
The visit comes after months of hard work from the councils, which have been trying to convince an Adelaide-based flight school that will run the university, that this is the best location for the facility.
Maryborough Mayor Barbara Hovard says the project has plenty of potential.
"It will be like a mini-college on a campus at uni," she said.
"They will stay on the airport, eat at the airport have recreational facilities at the airport. It will all be there."
Terror Suspect Denied Bond; affidavit shows he admits to lying
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, January 24, 2007, By Karen Lee Ziner, Journal Staff Writer
BOSTON — Mohammed Yousuf Mullawala, a central figure in a national antiterrorism investigation, admitted lying to Rhode Island state police numerous times about his whereabouts and activities since he arrived in this country in 2002, according to a state police affidavit made public yesterday.
Federal ImmigrationJudge Matthew J. D’Angelo cited those alleged lies and Mullawala’s “evasive and far-fetched explanations” in denying bond yesterday for Mullawala, whom he called a danger to the community and “an extreme flight risk.”
The 28-year-old Indian national has been held in federal detention on a violation of his student visa since Rhode Island state police arrested him last month. DÂ’Angelo ordered Mullawala returned to the Suffolk County House of Detention until a deportation hearing next Tuesday.
MullawalaÂ’s behavior at the Nationwide Tractor-Trailer Driving School, in Smithfield, triggered Homeland Security concerns that have since widened into an investigation by an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
According to the school’s instructor, that behavior included Mullawala’s expressed interest in buying software or videos on hazardous materials and his stated interest in only learning how to drive the truck forward — not how to back it up or any other required technical maneuvers.
“I do not find his responses or explanations to be credible,” said D’Angelo. “The court is concerned about his conduct at the tractor-trailer school. … He has been evasive in both his residential and work history, and also, interestingly, he has no work authority — he’s acting like he’s lawfully working in this country. He’s an extreme flight risk and it’s very unlikely he will appear at a future hearing.”
During a 1½-hour hearing at the JFK Building, Mullawala raised his manacled hands and told the judge, “Yes, I will tell the truth.” Then he sat calmly, wearing prison clothes that billowed around his small frame.
Prosecutor Mary Kelley underscored MullawalaÂ’s alleged multiple lies, related to his numerous addresses, work history, school enrollments, trucking school application, behavior at the trucking school and more. She also argued that he posed a flight risk because he has no family or friends in the United States.
The affidavit, obtained by The Journal after it was filed in court yesterday, states that Mullawala first told investigators he lived at 181 Carpenter St. in Providence, then recanted after the police confronted him with evidence to the contrary.
Kelley said although Mullawala’s application to the trucking school lists the Carpenter Street address, investigators learned from tenants “that there’s no such person who lives here.”
“He lied,” said Kelley. “He lists a reference at 181 Carpenter, but no such person existed when they went out there … . He indicated he never had any speeding tickets — that was a lie.”
When immigration agents were brought into the investigation, Kelley said, they learned that Mullawala enrolled at Johnson & Wales University “but then he drops out and re-enrolls. So he’s not attending school … .”
“He lied after he was Mirandized about his numerous addresses, including ‘I can’t tell you where I lived,’ ” said Kelley. “He lies about where he worked. He doesn’t even show up for traffic court  so I hardly think he’s going to show up for a hearing here.”
Kelley also said Mullawala’s explanation for his “extreme mobility” — at least seven addresses that authorities have been able to confirm he lived at — doesn’t wash.
Defense lawyer June Beack said Mullawala told her he moved numerous times in New York City because he wanted to avoid areas where the police ticket heavily for traffic violations, and said that as a young single man, “he wanted to learn about different parts of the city.”
Kelley maintained that Mullawala also lied when he said trucking-school instructor Ed Mowry steered him toward a hazardous-materials license, and not the other way around, and when he said investigators lied when they contradicted his statements during an initial questioning.
Pointing to Mullawala, Kelley said, “What he’s asking you to believe is that everybody’s lying except the man sitting 10 feet in front of you.”
The affidavit was filed by state police detectives Michael J. Winquist and Kevin M. Barry. Winquist is assigned to the Rhode Island State Fusion Center, which handles investigations concerning Homeland Security. Barry is assigned to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
It includes a timeline that shows MullawalaÂ’s zigzag path between 2002 and last year.
The path leads from Rhode Island in 2002; to India and back in 2003; to India via Kuwait in the spring of 2003; to Bridgeport, Conn., then Shelton, Conn., in 2004; to the Bronx, N.Y., in 2004 and Â’05; to Jackson Heights, then Hicksville, Hyde Park, Kew Gardens and Floral Park in New York last year; to Hackensack, N.J., last year; back to Kew Gardens a month later; and then to Jamaica, N.Y.
Investigators have been able to verify that he lived briefly at seven of those addresses, but have been unable to establish whether he ever lived at the four others.
The affidavit also states that Mullawala provided false information on his application to the trucking school.
While Mullawala stated that he lived on Carpenter Street, “he was actually residing in the state of New York.” When asked whether he had driver’s licenses in other states besides Rhode Island, Mullawala noted his New York license but failed to mention a New Jersey license. He also said he had never been issued a traffic summons, when in fact, “he received summonses from the Rhode Island State Police and in New Jersey.”
The affidavit provides a glimpse into the days leading up to MullawalaÂ’s arrest last month and into questions posed by police on that day.
On Dec. 1, state police called Mullawala on his cell phone “under the guise that an accident was being investigated that involved a Rhode Island registration plate” previously issued in his name.
“Mohammed Y. Mullawala was very argumentative and advised your co-affiant that he was unable to respond [to] Rhode Island since he was working in New York driving a limousine,” the affidavit states.
Mullawala also said his parents had arrived from India “and that he planned to take them to California on a sight-seeing trip.” The affidavit notes that Mullawala “later admitted that he lied when making this statement.”
At the state police’s request, the owner of the trucking school “made numerous fruitless attempts to reach Mohammed Y. Mullawala on his cell phone” regarding a refund on money paid to the school since he attended for only two days. Mullawala “never returned her calls.”
On Dec. 5, Mullawala arrived at state police headquarters unannounced “for the purpose of making a complaint” against one of the detectives involved in the case. When a trooper at the front desk recognized Mullawala from a bulletin, Mullawala was taken into custody.
“During his interview, Mohammed Y. Mullawala appeared to be extremely nervous. Detectives also found several inconsistencies in his answers to the questions being asked. When detectives confronted him with those inconsistencies,” the affidavit states, “Mohammed Y. Mullawala admitted to being untruthful.”
kziner@projo.com
Yes, we had those reports.
That is what Milford421 has his group at Yahoo Groups for, to report on the incidents, and so one can connect those that should be.
I don't recall if his messages are open and the cookies on my computer, show that i am a member, so they are open to me, no matter how I go there.
This is a report he was working on this morning:
[under-investigation] Brooklyn - Toxic Fumes Taken in By 7 Workers on Barge
7 Workers took in toxic fumes in the hold of a barge. EMS on scene.
CPR being conducted...more details will follow.
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/under-investigation/
Milford's list is not a chat list, he is the only one who posts, and that gives us cleaner reports, as LOL, he does not post all that I send to him, which is fine, as he has a good group, several folks sending him reports.
I suspect that having that thread here, would invite a lot of side comments, about tinfoil.
The Threat Matrix thread here, also covers the odd incidents.
And if you do find something, go ahead and post it here, then we can also be sure that Milford 421 gets it for his list.
The Underdogs
by Mariano Azuela
Click on the title above to read the ebook,
click the eBooks Cube logo at the top left to return to the main page,
or search by title and/or author using the search form.
About The Author:
Mariano Azuela, the first of the "novelists of the Revolution," was born in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico, in 1873. Hestudied medicine in Guadalajara and returned to Lagos in 1909, where he began the practice of his profession. He began his writing career early; in 1896 he published Impressions of a Student in a weekly of Mexico City. This was followed by numerous sketches and short stories, and in 1911 by his first novel, Andres Perez, maderista.
Like most of the young Liberals, he supported Francisco I. Madero's uprising, which overthrew the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz, and in 1911 was made Director of Education of the State of Jalisco. After Madero's assassination, he joined the army of
Pancho Villa as doctor, and his knowledge of the Revolution was acquired at firsthand. When the counterrevolutionary forces of Victoriano Huerta were temporarily triumphant, he emigrated to El Paso, Texas, where in 1915 he wrote The Underdogs (Los de abajo), which did not receive general recognition until 1924, when it was hailed as the novel of the Revolution.
But Azuela was fundamentally a moralist, and his disappointment with the Revolution soon began to manifest itself. He had fought for a better Mexico; but he saw that while the Revolution had corrected certain injustices, it had given rise to others
equally deplorable. When he saw the self-servers and the unprincipled turning his hopes for the redemption of the underprivileged of his country into a ladder to serve their own ends, his disillusionment was deep and often bitter. His later novels
are marred at times by a savage sarcasm
During his later years, and until his death in 1952, he lived in Mexico City writing and practicing his profession among the poor.
http://www.ebooks3.com/ebooks/the_underdogs.html
Free to read on line..................
http://english.people.com.cn/200701/24/eng20070124_344223.html
UPDATED: 10:01, January 24, 2007
U.S. frigate seizes cocaine on Costa Rican fishing boat
font size ZoomIn ZoomOut
A U.S. frigate seized a Costa Rican fishing boat with 2.5 tons of cocaine on board, local media reported on Tuesday.
The 2.5 tons of drugs were hidden inside the boat's freezers when seized. Three people were also arrested during the seizure, which took place on Monday in the course of an operation conducted under the Joint Patrol Agreement between Costa Rica and the United States.
All the arrested were taken to the Costa Rican Pacific coastal town of Puntarensas
On Jan. 16, Costa Rican authorities seized two tons of cocaine hidden in a boat that had been intercepted at about 185 km from Flamingo beach, Guanacaste, on the Pacific coast.
About 25.5 tons of drugs have been seized and 30 people have been arrested since 2006 in the Central American country.
Source: Xinhua
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-venezuela-protest,0,2855458.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines
Throngs in Venezuela Protest Chavez Plan
By FABIOLA SANCHEZ
Associated Press Writer
January 23, 2007, 8:16 PM EST
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Blowing whistles and waving flags, hundreds of Venezuelans protested Tuesday against a congressional measure that would grant President Hugo Chavez the power to pass laws by decree in areas from the economy to defense.
Some 400 to 500 protesters stood in a Caracas plaza and shouted in unison: "Faced with authoritarianism, more democracy!"
The protest came as lawmakers in the entirely pro-Chavez National Assembly announced they would postpone until next Tuesday a session to grant final approval of a so-called "enabling law" allowing Chavez to enact laws by decree during an 18-month period. Chavez is seeking special powers to quickly push through changes from nationalizing electrical companies to imposing new taxes on the rich.
Many protesters said the measure would give Chavez carte blanche to legislate in a list of vaguely specified areas without checks or balances.
"It gives him total power," said Greys Pulido, 40. "We don't want a dictatorship."
continues.........
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?p=McCarran+airport&sp=1&fr2=sp-top&fr=ush2-mail&ei=UTF-8&fr2=tab-web&x=wrt&ei=UTF-8&SpellState=n-510119048_q-X.ERLOy0GUTCNOrruBNrpQAAAA@@
# Security breach at McCarran Open this result in new window
KVBC Las Vegas - 53 minutes ago
Homeland security, the FAA, the DOA, and Metro were all investigating an early morning security breach at McCarran Airport. Airport officials say a man somehow jumped over two perimeter fences at McCarran's executive terminal around four this morning.
Save
# Alleged drunk man breaks into airport Open this result in new window
AP via Yahoo! News - Jan 23 7:53 PM
An intoxicated 28-year-old man apparently broke into a secure area near McCarran International Airport and stole a luggage cart tug car before being arrested early Tuesday.
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# Drunk Man Breaks Into Airport, Takes Tractor For Joyride Open this result in new window
KLAS Las Vegas - Jan 23 6:48 PM
A man was arrested early Tuesday morning after breeching a secure area near McCarran International Airport.
Save
# Drunk man breaks into airport, steals luggage cart tug car Open this result in new window
KESQ - Jan 23 6:38 PM
LAS VEGAS An intoxicated 28-year-old man apparently broke into a secure area near McCarran International Airport and stole a luggage cart tug car before being arrested this morning.
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# Congresswoman Berkley urges more traffic controllers at McCarran Open this result in new window
KVBC Las Vegas - Jan 19 9:20 AM
McCarran International Airport is the nation's fifth busiest and each year the number of people traveling through McCarran increases.
Save
# Suspicious luggage forces McCarran plane evacuation Open this result in new window
KVBC Las Vegas - Jan 19 9:17 AM
Police and firefighters conducted an investigation of a bomb scare at McCarran Airport Friday morning. Northwest Airlines flight 778 was scheduled to depart McCarran at 6:55 for Minneapolis. A suspicious item was reported to be on the plane.
Save
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?p=security+breach+airport&fr2=tab-web&fr=ush2-mail&ei=UTF-8&x=wrt
# Security breach at McCarran Open this result in new window
KVBC Las Vegas - 58 minutes ago
Homeland security, the FAA, the DOA, and Metro were all investigating an early morning security breach at McCarran Airport. Airport officials say a man somehow jumped over two perimeter fences at McCarran's executive terminal around four this morning.
Save
# Security lapse at Mumbai airport; Nusli Wadia takes off with firearm Open this result in new window
Outlook India - Jan 19 6:01 AM
In a serious breach of security at Mumbai airport, security personnel failed to detect a revolver and 30 live bullets in the baggage of industrialist Nusli Wadia last week though all airports were on a high alert.
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http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?p=security+breach+luggage+airport&fr2=tab-web&fr=ush2-mail&ei=UTF-8&x=wrt
# Customer Service Open this result in new window
Brandon Sun - Jan 05 2:39 PM
VANCOUVER (CP) - A passenger bound for South Korea exposed a glaring security flaw Friday when he cleared security, then returned to the public area before proceeding to his gate by walking past security.
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http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/01/23/news/local/doc45b5b060c9174414123705.txt
Illinois sailor found dead
By The Associated Press
CAMBRIDGE, Ill. (AP) — An investigation is being conducted into the death of an Illinois sailor who died while serving in Bahrain, the Department of Defense announced Monday.
Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer A. Valdivia, 27, of Cambridge, Ill., died “in a non-combat related incident” on Jan. 16, the Pentagon said.
Valdivia was assigned to the naval security force for support activity in Bahrain, an island country in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Saudi Arabia. The island is located within a designated hostile fire zone, according to the Pentagon.
In an October article in Stars and Stripes, Valdivia was identified as a kennel master with the Military Working Dog Division. The dogs are used to sniff out bombs or drugs on the island and at U.S. military camps, at the military side of the Bahrain airport and at locations where U.S. Navy and coalition ships dock.
© Copyright 2007, The Quad-City Times, Davenport, IA
[Is this the third one? appears to be.....]
Wed 24 Jan 2007
Sudanese hijack ends, 103 passengers safe
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A hijacked Sudanese plane has landed safely in the Chadian capital N'Djamena and all 103 passengers are safe as the Sudanese hijacker requested asylum from the French embassy, an airline official said on Wednesday.
The Air West domestic Sudanese flight was diverted by an armed Sudanese man at 9 a.m. (6 a.m. British time) who demanded the Boeing 737 fly onto N'Djamena.
"The plane has landed ... the hijacker was met by the French ambassador and all the passengers are safe," said Ahmed Salih, commercial director of Air West in Sudan.
(c) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
This article: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=124342007
Last updated: 24-Jan-07 09:21 GMT
Wed 24 Jan 2007
U.S. launches new air strike on Somalia -report
By Sahal Abdulle
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship has launched a second air strike against suspected al Qaeda operatives in southern Somalia, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified U.S. officials.
No confirmation of Monday's reported attack was immediately available in the region and a Pentagon spokesman declined to comment. The newspaper said there was no information on the results or the specific targets of the strike.
An AC-130 gunship two weeks ago attacked what Washington said were al Qaeda agents fleeing with Islamist forces defeated by the Somali government and Ethiopian troops late last month. It was the first overt U.S. action in Somalia since the end of a disastrous peacekeeping mission in 1994.
Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said he was not aware of a second U.S. attack. Washington believes Somali Islamists harboured al Qaeda members accused of bombing two U.S. embassies and an Israeli-owned hotel in east Africa.
"I am not aware of that," Dinari told Reuters. "I will look into it and once I get information I will let you know."
Any prolonged U.S. intervention in Somalia would be sure to inflame political passions there and in the Horn of Africa region where Muslims have complained of discrimination against them in the name of the "war on terror".
A freelance Somali journalist said on Sunday he had seen U.S. troops on the ground in south Somalia working with Ethiopian forces hunting fugitive Islamists.
Rumours have swirled for days that U.S. personnel were inside Somalia since the January 8 strike but there has been no official confirmation of a U.S. ground presence.
ISLAMIST LEADER IN KENYA
The Islamists have been pushed into the remote southern tip near Kenya's border after a lightning December offensive ousted them from Mogadishu and the southern territories they had controlled for six months.
Kenya has in custody top Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. A Kenyan government official said on Wednesday Ahmed would not be deported to Somalia because he would be killed and that he has asked for refuge in Yemen.
continued..........
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=125802007&format=print
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