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

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.

'Four dead' in Haiti UN operation
The UN mission in Haiti says four people were killed when its peacekeepers expanded their presence in the Cite Soleil slum of Port-au-Prince.

A spokesman said six other people were injured in what he described as exchanges of fire with criminals.

On Wednesday, when the operation took place, another UN spokesman had said there had been no reports of casualties or much of a reaction to the operation.

The peacekeepers are now holding a strategic location in Cite Soleil.

The stronghold is to be a centre for operations against armed gangs, a UN spokesperson told the BBC.

A local aid worker for the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, Fabio Pompetti, told AFP news agency that three women had been wounded in Wednesday's clash and that one of them later died from her wounds.

UN peacekeepers, in Haiti since 2004, were sent to the country to maintain order after a revolt ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Hundreds of people have died in Port-au-Prince in clashes between rogue police officers, ex-rebels and gangs.

The Brazilian-led UN force includes more than 8,000 soldiers and police supported by some 1,000 civilian personnel.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6300885.stm

Published: 2007/01/26 03:25:48 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Choppers go cheap in US army sale
Local sheriffs around the US seeking a few armoured fighting vehicles or a couple of attack helicopters are turning to the military for a bargain.

Thousands of police forces in the US have recently grabbed some 380,000 pieces of discounted military kit.

Some snapped up night vision goggles, while others asked for combat fatigues to help hunt drug dealers.

About 16,000 US departments obtained equipment during 2005, worth some $124m (£63m), the Associated Press found.

The news agency asked the US Department of Defense to release an analysis of each state's second-hand trading during the 2005 financial year.

'Bargain basement'

The results revealed a roaring trade in military equipment now surplus to requirement on the 21st Century battlefield.

Many smaller items, ranging from helmets to rifles, are essentially free apart from shipping costs.

Other "big ticket" requisitions, such as weapons, vehicles or boats, come at a fee, but one much lower than charged on the open market.

Officials in Buck County, Pennsylvania, bought two armoured vehicles to protect their officers during hostage negotiation stand-offs.

TOP BARGAIN HUNTERS
California: $17m worth
Indiana: $10.5m
North Carolina: $10m
Source: AP
That saved local taxpayers an estimated $140,000 (£70,000), they say.

Several 1970s helicopters appear to have found a new lease of life near Birmingham, Alabama - although one has been cannibalised for spare parts.

Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale said he balked at paying $1 million for a brand new chopper, preferring to put his faith in the "bargain basement" instead.

"The product we put out is a first-class helicopter."

The programme is run by the Defense Logistics Agency, a branch of the Department of Defense.

It was set up in the 1990s to transfer surplus military parts to police for anti-drug and anti-terrorism operations.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6302185.stm

Published: 2007/01/26 13:56:37 GMT

© BBC MMVII

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/27/newsid_3520000/3520986.stm

January 27th, 1945

1945: Auschwitz death camp liberated
The Red Army has liberated the Nazis' biggest concentration camp at Auschwitz in south-western Poland.

According to reports, hundreds of thousands of Polish people, as well as Jews from a number of other European countries, have been held prisoner there in appalling conditions and many have been killed in the gas chambers.

Few details have emerged of the capture of Auschwitz, which has gained a reputation as the most notorious of the Nazi death camps.

Some reports say the German guards were given orders several days ago to destroy the crematoria and gas chambers. Tens of thousands of prisoners - those who were able to walk - have been moved out of the prison and forced to march to other camps in Germany.

Little did we know that we had arrived at a place, the name of which would become as well known and remembered as any battle in the war

People's War memories »
Details of what went on at the camp have been released previously by the Polish Government in exile in London and from prisoners who have escaped.

In July 1944 details were revealed of more than 400,000 Hungarian Jews who were sent to Poland many of whom ended up in Auschwitz. They were loaded onto trains and taken to the camp where many were put to death in the gas chambers.

Before they went they were told they were being exchanged in Poland for prisoners of war and made to write cheerful letters to relatives at home telling them what was happening.

According to the Polish Ministry of Information, the gas chambers are capable of killing 6,000 people a day.

Another report from Poland told of mass arrests in the village of Garbatka near Radom in the early hours of one morning in August 1942. Workmen were accused of plotting to blow up a local factory. Twenty were executed on the spot, the rest were sent to Auschwitz.

Since its establishment in 1940, only a handful of prisoners have escaped to tell of the full horror of the camp.

In October last year, a group of Polish prisoners mounted an attack on their German guards. The Germans reportedly machine-gunned the barracks killing 200 Polish prisoners. The Poles succeeded in killing six of their executioners.

When the Red Army arrived at the camp they found only a few thousand prisoners remaining. They had been too sick to leave.

The capture of Auschwitz comes as the Red Army has made important advances on three fronts: in East Prussia to the north, in western Poland as well as Silesia in eastern Germany. Fighting is continuing around the historic Polish western city of Poznan.

The Polish capital, Warsaw, was liberated a week ago after five-and-a-half years of German occupation.

February 2nd,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/2/default.stm

FW de Klerk 1990: De Klerk dismantles apartheid in South Africa
The President of South Africa lifts the 30-year ban on leading anti-apartheid group the African National Congress.

Terry Waite 1987: Peace envoy imprisoned in Beirut
Reports from Lebanon say Church of England envoy Terry Waite has been kidnapped by an Islamic militia group.

Photo of Sid Vicious 1979: Sid Vicious dies from drugs overdose
Sex Pistols' bassist Sid Vicious dies of a heroin overdose in New York.

Memorial to those who died on Bloody Sunday 1972: British embassy in Dublin destroyed
Angry demonstrators burn the British Embassy in Dublin to the ground in protest at the shooting dead of 13 people in Londonderry on Sunday.

Around this Day

30 January
Top Story 1972: Army kills 13 in civil rights protest
31 January
Top Story 2000: Life for serial killer Shipman
1 February
Top Story 2003: Columbia shuttle disintegrates killing seven

3 February
Top Story 1959: Buddy Holly killed in air crash
4 February
Top Story 1974: Soldiers and children killed in coach bombing
5 February
Top Story 1994: Market massacre in Sarajevo

Seven charged over fake passports
Seven people have been charged following raids targeting an alleged fake passport ring.

Police officers found a number of passports, money, computers, scanners and printers at five properties in Hackney, east London, on Friday.

Three men and a woman have been charged with conspiracy to manufacture and supply counterfeit documents.

A further two women and one man have been charged with possessing fake documents.

All seven are due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court later.

The details of the charges are:

* Luiz Enrique, 28, and Ranuz Cunha 24, both of Stoke Newington, north London, charged with conspiracy to make false documents and possession of articles to produce identity documents

* Wander Dasilva-Travarers, 36, and Camila Ferreira-Dios, 26, both of Clapton, east London, charged with conspiracy to make false documents and possession of forged identity documents

* Julio Cezar-Rosario, 36, Alessandra Desusa-Arocha, 26, and Benia Decarvalho, 30, all from Clapton east London, charged with possession of forged ID documents

The raids were made as a part of Operation Maxim, which targets organised immigration crime in London.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6305437.stm

Published: 2007/01/27 12:36:23 GMT

© BBC MMVII

England

Ill child sparks meningitis alert
Parents have been warned to be vigilant after a Sussex child was taken to hospital with suspected meningitis.

The youngster, a five-year-old pupil at Seaford County Primary School, was taken to Eastbourne District General Hospital and is recovering.

Letters were sent on Friday to parents at the school by the Health Protection Agency advising them of the meningitis symptoms to watch for.

People with concerns have been advised to contact their GP or go to A&E.

In the letter, Dr Bernadette Purcell, a consultant in communicable disease control, said: "A child has been admitted to hospital with signs of meningococcal septicaemia."

She said there was no action that parents needed to take and "the risk of a further case occurring is very small".

And she added that the child was starting to recover.

But she said parents should be vigilant for symptoms and should seek medical advice if they have any concerns.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/southern_counties/6305397.stm

Published: 2007/01/27 12:38:17 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Chocolate drugs trio spared jail
Three people have each been given a nine-month suspended jail term for supplying cannabis-laced chocolate bars to multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferers.

Mark Gibson, his wife Lezley, both 42, of Alston, Cumbria and Marcus Davies, 36, of St Ives, Cambs, were earlier convicted of conspiracy to supply.

The couple admitted making thousands of "Canna-Biz" bars and sending them to MS sufferers around the world.

Davies admitted running an associated website and post office box.

In their testimonies, the Cumbrian couple insisted they offered a free service funded by voluntary donations, which was only available to MS sufferers who provided a medical note confirming their condition.

Davies had denied any involvement in making or posting the chocolate.

'Very disappointed'

Cash receipts totalling £30,000 were seized by police, but Carlisle Crown Court heard Lezley Gibson told officers these referred to donations, which were ploughed "straight back in" to fund the operation.

All three said they believed they had a defence of medical necessity in supplying the bars, but this was rejected by the jury.

Outside court, Mrs Gibson, herself a MS sufferer, said she was very disappointed at the judge's ruling.

She said: "I was devastated when we were found guilty and this decision has broken me again.

"I still don't think I've done anything wrong. How can it be wrong to try and help ill people? What kind of government lets people suffer in this way?

"The people that used to use our service are now forced to go to the street dealers and buy contaminated cannabis."

'Commercial enterprise'

The Gibsons said they were planning to appeal against their conviction.

Cumbria's Chief Crown Prosecutor, Claire Lindley, said: "The investigation showed this enterprise to be a commercial one, with payment being received for the majority of transactions.

"The police sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service before any charge was brought against any of the defendants.

"The then chief crown prosecutor, David Farmer, considered all the evidence and concluded that there was sufficient evidence to proceed and that the public interest required a prosecution in this case."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/6302409.stm

Published: 2007/01/26 13:03:32 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Gang steals van with rescued pets
An animal rescue worker said he has been left sickened after a gang of youths stole an ambulance full of pets.

The gang stole the vehicle after a Freshfields Animal centre officer dropped his keys during a delivery in Stockbridge village, Merseyside.

When he returned to the van they demanded £50 for the keys - before one of them jumped in and drove off.

Most of the animals inside - three dogs and two cats - were later found on the road but a large ginger cat is missing.

David Callender, manager of the centre, said he was taking two cats back to their owners when he dropped his keys.

This is a hard enough job as it is without gangs of teenagers terrorising us
David Callender

"The next thing I knew a gang of kids were around the van waving the keys at me and laughing.

"They told me I had to pay £50 if I wanted my keys back. I tried to reason with them and explained what I was doing."

Mr Callender told the youths there were animals in the van but he said they "just did not care" and took it anyway.

The cage belonging to the ginger cat was found destroyed on the road and staff at the centre, based in Ince Blundell, are concerned for its welfare.

The white Citroen Berlingo van was stolen just after 2030 GMT on Friday and later found abandoned on Saturday morning.

"It was my worst nightmare, I was so worried about what they were going to do to the animals," Mr Callender added.

"I just can't believe anybody could do something like this, it's sickening.

"This is a hard enough job as it is without gangs of teenagers terrorising us."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6305059.stm

Published: 2007/01/27 12:21:39 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Thanks to Milford421 for this report:

Small Plane Lands on Fla. Interstate
By Associated Press

January 26, 2007, 8:01 PM EST

SUN CITY CENTER, Fla. -- A pilot had to maneuver between traffic but
was able to safely land his small plane on an interstate highway
Friday after experiencing mechanical problems, authorities said.

The 1976 twin-engine Piper plane lost power around 3:30 p.m. and
landed on Interstate 75 in southern Hillsborough County, near Tampa,
said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Larry Coggins. Only the pilot
and co-pilot were aboard.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-brf-plane-
on-highway,0,3426677.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

"He just found a safe area in between traffic," Coggins said.

No injuries were reported. Aviation officials are investigating

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1774523/posts

Agents: 135,000 pills sold by ‘Godfather,' others (at Muslim owned convenience stores)
cdispatch. ^ | January 25, 2007 11:11 AM CST | Joey Vaughan

Posted on 01/27/2007 2:16:15 AM PST by dennisw

A group of immigrants living in Columbus used a ring of convenience stores to illegally distribute methamphetamine precursor drugs, contraband cigarettes and commit food stamp fraud, according to indictments for 11 people arrested Saturday by federal agents.

As many as 135,000 pills and more than 60,000 contraband cigarettes were sold through the Key Station on Waterworks Road, CK Discount Store on Fourth Street South and Stop and Save Grocery on Military Road between December 2005 and August 2006, federal prosecutors allege.

Included among the 11 people arrested in connection with the case is Hamzah Ali Ahmed, better know to many Columbians as “The Godfather.”

Also charged are his wife, Fandah Kissim Ahmed, and Muna Hamzah Ahmed; Omar Musaed Ali; Adeeb Naji Amer, also known as “Ed”; Fnu Lnu, a.k.a. “Nick”; Fouad Fadec Mohamed, Khaled Hezam Nagi, a.k.a. “Adam”; Ahmed Mohamed Qasem, a.k.a. “David”; Saleh Ali Rashed, a.k.a. “Mohamed”; and Abdo Hamed Yahia, a.k.a. “Mike.”

All the defendants are being held without bond until their court appearances.

The 39-count indictment alleges the group sold large quantities of pseudoephedrine “having reasonable cause to believe that the listed chemical would be used to manufacture methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.”

The first 35 counts of the indictment involve drug conspiracy, while count 36 deals with contraband cigarettes and the final three counts allege food stamp fraud. The defendants are accused of buying stolen cigarettes without proper Mississippi tax stamps. In the food stamp cases, Omar Musaed Ali and Ahmed Mohamed Qasem, a.k.a. “David,” are charged with redeeming food stamp benefits through Electronic Benefit Transfer cards in exchange for discounted amounts of cash.

Muna Hamzah Ahmed, Fandah Kissim Ahmed, Abdo Hamed Yahia and Ahmed Mohamed Qasem all pleaded not guilty to charges in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen Wednesday.

According to Delores Lewis, co-director of public affairs for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, the arrests were part of a yearlong joint investigation that resulted in 33 arrests in 10 northern Mississippi counties.

Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents initiated the investigation, code-named Operation 607, in late 2005, after Gov. Haley Barbour signed House Bill 607.

The state law makes it a crime to dispense ephedrine and pseudoephedrine under circumstances knowing, or where one reasonably should know, that the precursor will be used to unlawfully manufacture a controlled substance.

Ephedrine is commonly used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Eight other Columbus suspects were held Saturday by the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center following the arrests on charges filed by the MBN, but Joey Brackin, commander of the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, said the suspects have since been transferred to federal custody.

Those people are Omar Kahtan Mohammed, 29, of 110 Highway 45 South in West Point; Yasser Hezam Nagi, 25, of 417 Forrest Blvd. in Columbus; Anwar M. Sedek, 20, of 702 Military Road in Columbus;

Abdulhakim Borou, 29, of 3946 Highway 182 E., Apt. 11-C in Columbus; Abdel M. Saleh, 40, of 12502 Highway 45 N. in Columbus; Ragaee A. Rashed, 25, of 1202 Fourth St. S. in Columbus;

Joyce B. Johnson, 46, of 222 Burgundy Drive in Columbus; and Arthur Harrison, 44, of 2022 17th Ave. N. in Columbus.

Mohammed was being held for another jurisdiction. The others were all charged with possession or sale of ephedrine tablets.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1774469/posts

Strange Happening At Rutherford Manufacturing Plant Causes Concern
WTVF News Channel5 ^ | Jan 26, 2007

Posted on 01/26/2007 8:43:12 PM PST by Oorang

Rutherford County law enforcement agencies were concerned about homeland security safety after an incident at Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc.

Around 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, an unidentified man of Middle Eastern descent approached an employee outside Barrett Manufacturing, asked about what was made there, and if he could see inside.

The employee responded with information tours planned in advance.

The man wanted to know if he could buy metal from the company with the $15,000 to $20,000 in cash he had on him at the time.

The employee offered to give the man's name to management, but he left in a white dooley pick-up truck with two other occupants and a lot of luggage in the truck bed. The truck may have Michigan license plates.

"Certainly since 9/11 a lot of law enforcement agencies have taken these kinds of things more seriously. It's hard to say whether there is anything to this or not, but if it is something suspicious we definitely want to know about it," TBI spokesperson Jennifer Johnson said.

Barrett Firearms makes 50 caliber rifles for the military.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1774668/posts

Officer’s home burglarized; guns, uniforms stolen
The Herald Democrat (Texas) ^ | 1/26/07 | Mary Jane Farmer

Posted on 01/27/2007 9:36:32 AM PST by kiriath_jearim

GAINESVILLE — The investigation is still going on into everything taken Thursday morning from a Gainesville home, but Gainesville Police Chief Carl Dunlap issued an early warning for law enforcement and people everywhere to be on the lookout for anyone impersonating a police officer. Dunlap said thieves went into the home of a part-time Cooke County Sheriff’s Office deputy, who is also a Grapevine, Texas, firefighter while the family was out. When they returned about 9:30 a.m., they discovered the house burglarized.

Missing are three guns, a Ruger .22-caliber pistol, a Kimber .45-caliber pistol, and a Remington .27-caliber rifle; two police uniforms with Azle (Texas) P.D. patches on the sleeves, but no badges; one bullet-proof vest; and one duty belt and holster. Other items, such as tools, have also been taken, and officers worked with the resident Thursday to get a full list.

Dunlap stressed that people, drivers especially, use caution if an approaching officer seems in anyway suspicious to them. Drivers aren’t required to get out of their vehicles. Lock the doors and open the window only a couple of inches, Dunlap said, so that the driver can get a close look at the badge presented.

“Of course, if an officer is wearing an Azle P.D. patch, that’s completely out of place,” Dunlap stated, then added that there’s always the possibility that someone who might impersonate an officer could have access to more local patches and replace the Azle P.D. patches with them.

Most uniformed officers drive marked patrol cars and have overhead flashing lights, but that is not always the case as some agencies patrol and monitor traffic in unmarked vehicles.

Law enforcement officers have also been made aware of these missing items.

Right now, Gainesville police have no suspects, Dunlap stated.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1774756/posts?page=3

Israel Planes Dump "suspicious Green Balloons" On Southern Lebanon
Monsters and Critics | DPA ^ | 1/27/07

Posted on 01/27/2007 12:48:49 PM PST by LibWhacker

Israeli planes violated Lebanese airspace Saturday and dumped green balloons over the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanese security sources said.

Lebanese troops cordoned off the area around the coast of Tyre and prevented people from touching the "suspicious balloons" after reports indicated that some people were poisoned when they did.

According to a hospital source in Nabatiyeh, similar green balloons were dropped over the market-town of Nabatiyeh, 54 kilometres south of Beirut.

Five people suffering from nausea and dizziness were brought into hospital after they touched the "suspicious green balloons," the source said.

Israel violates Lebanese airspace on a daily basis despite the fact that the attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon by the radical Hezbollah movement have stopped after a beefed-up UN force along with the Lebanese Army were deployed to the area in accordance with a UN resolution.

[a different version of the earlier report]

From Monsters and Critics.com

Americas News
American Airlines plane forced to land in Caracas (Roundup)
By DPA
Jan 27, 2007, 0:10 GMT

Caracas - An American Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Venezuela after a suspected fire in the passenger cabin, officials said Friday.

Civil aviation authorities said the US-operated Boeing 777, which landed at the international airport in Caracas, landed safely and there were no injures. The aircraft was carrying 245 people from Dallas, Texas, in the US to Sao Paulo in Brazil.

One of the passengers, Brazilian Jose Carlos Rangel, 42, told the Brazilian internet news portal G1 that the pilot announced an emergency landing after the aircraft had already left Venezuelan airspace and was over the Brazilian rain forest. The pilot spoke of 'overheating,' he said.

Firefighters waited ready for action on the tarmac as the plane landed, people on board said. The passengers were later flown to Miami, Florida, after hours of waiting in the airport and sitting in the plane while authorities inspected the aircraft. They were expected to fly on to Sao Paulo late Friday.

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

© Copyright 2006,2007 by monstersandcritics.com.
This notice cannot be removed without permission.

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