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.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L02107229.htm
Saudi police seize armed man entering Mecca mosque
Posted on Thursday, February 1, 2007 at 7:32pm
Saudi police arrested a man with weapons hidden under his clothes as he tried to enter the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam's holiest site, a Saudi security official said on Friday. Police stopped the man late on Thursday because he appeared to be acting strangely. He was carrying a revolver and a sub-machinegun under his clothes, and was wearing what appeared to be a suicide belt but which later proved to be fake.
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - WEEKLY UPDATE
for the week of 29 January 2007
Conflict areas and subjects covered in this week’s update:
* Reports & briefings: Afghanistan, Egypt, Haiti, CrisisWatch
* Commentary: Bolivia, Sudan
Crisis Group reports & briefings published this week:
CrisisWatch N°42
Monthly Bulletin, 1 February 2007
Seven actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated in January 2007, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch.
full report: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4642&l=1
Haiti: Justice Reform and the Security Crisis
Policy Briefing, 31 January 2007
Haiti could be overwhelmed by violent crime unless the Préval government and the international community take immediate steps to reform the police and judiciary systems.
full report: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4639&l=1
Egypt’s Sinai Question
Policy Report, 30 January 2007
Terrorism in the Sinai is unlikely to be completely eradicated unless the Egyptian government tackles the underlying political and socio–economic dimensions at the heart of the peninsula’s disquiet.
full report: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4635&l=1
Afghanistan’s Endangered Compact
Policy Briefing, 29 January 2007
While the growing insurgency is attracting increasing attention, long-term efforts to build the solid governmental institutions a stable Afghanistan requires are faltering.
full report: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4631&l=1
Crisis Group commentary:
"Sudan and the ICC: A Question of Accountability"
Nick Grono and David Mozersky, openDemocracy, 31 January 2007
full article: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4640&l=1
"Bolivia: Reach a Compromise"
Mark L. Schneider, The Miami Herald, 25 January 2007
full article: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4636&l=1
About UN type groups, how they work, reports.
http://topposts.blogspot.com/2007/02/there-seem-to-be-some-misunderstandings.html
[unknown url]
Court gives life sentences to 2004 Moscow subway bombers -
MOSCOW, February 2 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow's city court has sentenced
three defendants in the case of terrorist attacks on the Moscow subway
in 2004 to life imprisonment Friday.
A bomb detonated in a train carriage between the central metro
stations Avtozavodskaya and Paveletskaya in February, 2004 and another
bomb went off near the entrance to the Rizhskaya station in northern
Moscow in August. A total of 49 people were killed and over 300 were
injured in both terrorist attacks.
Murat Shavayev, Tamby Khubiyev and Maxim Panaryin were found guilty on
charges of terrorism, murder, affiliation with a criminal group,
illegal possession of arms, and the making of an explosive device.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered them to pay over 6
million rubles ($226,500) for moral damages they inflicted.
The prosecution in the case said it was satisfied with the verdict,
while a lawyer for Panaryin, who partially admitted his guilt, said he
would appeal to a higher court, as his client was not guilty on some
charges.
"Maxim Panaryin did not admit his guilt on some charges," Natalia
Alyoshina said. "We also feel that the classification of the crimes
was wrong and will appeal the verdict."
Lawyers for Shavayev, who used to work for the Justice Ministry, and
Khubiyev said they too would file appeals within 10 days.
Igor Trunov, a lawyer for the victims, also said he was satisfied with
the verdict, but did not agree with the court's decision to reduce the
previously announced sum of 36,200,000 rubles ($1.37 million) the
accused must pay in damages.
"The issue of compensation for damages has not been settled," Trunov
said.
The three are also suspected of involvement in a series of terrorist
attacks at bus stops in the southwestern city of Voronezh and in
Krasnodar, in southern Russia.
Confinement with a clean conscience
Freedom House places Russia at the level of North Korea
"The authoritarian regime in Russia could become an example for other states in post-Soviet region", summed up the authors of report by Freedom House
In 2006 Russia became an even more restricted country - this conclusion was made in a report published yesterday by the international human rights organization Freedom House, in their annual report "About the state of freedom in the world". For the first time, Russia received the smallest possible rating for the level of its civil liberties. Similar ratings were given to Cuba, Libya and North Korea. (SNIP)
http://www.google.com/search?q=Bilal+Khazal&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21158677-2,00.html
Accused terrorist pleads not guilty to incitement
February 02, 2007 02:31pm
ACCUSED terrorist Bilal Khazal pleaded not guilty today to inciting violence and producing a book on how to wage a jihad.
The 35-year-old former Qantas baggage handler will face a NSW Supreme Court trial in November to contest allegations he produced the book and incited terrorism.
Wearing a tradition Arabic white dish-dasha dress and sandals, Mr Khazal today pleaded not guilty to one count of making a document connected with terrorism and one count of inciting another person to commit a terrorist act.
Mr Khazal allegedly made the book - entitled Provisions on the rule of Jihad - short judicial rulings and organisational instructions for fighters and mujahideen against infidels - in September 2003.
NSW Supreme Court justice Anthony Whealy today continued Mr Khazal's bail and set a trial date of November 12.
The hearing is expected to last up to five weeks.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21168343-2,00.html
Coroner to probe 'poisoned' transplant organ deaths
By Suellen Hinde
February 04, 2007 12:00am
THREE Victorians have died mysteriously after receiving transplant organs from a single donor.
Victoria's coroner has launched an investigation into the deaths at two of Melbourne's major transplant hospitals.
In what is believed to be the first case of its kind in Australia, two transplant recipients passed away after receiving a kidney and a third died after being given a liver.
One of the victims, Lina Sirianni, 63, a wife, mother of two and grandmother, died after a kidney transplant in the Austin Hospital last month.
Mrs Sirianni's family claim they were told the organ was "poisoned".
They are demanding answers over the cause of her death.
A spokesman for the coroner said: "The State Coroner's Office is investigating the possible causes and common links between these deaths."
THE family of a Melbourne woman who was one of three patients who died after receiving transplant organs from the same donor wants answers.
Lina Sirianni, 63, a mother of two and grandmother, died after a kidney transplant in the Austin Hospital last month.
Her son Sam Sirianni, 38, told yesterday of his family's heartbreak and anger. "We want answers," he said.
"Mum had been on the transplant waiting list for five years."
Mr Sirianni's comments come as the state coroner launched an investigation into the deaths at two of Melbourne's major transplant hospitals.
The case is believed to be the first of its kind in Australia.
"My mother was on dialysis three times a week, but she was healthy and strong. When we had the call that they had a donor that matched, she wanted to go ahead. She wanted quality of life so she could travel overseas," Mr Sirianni said.
He said she seemed "OK"after the transplant, but within a week she had deteriorated rapidly.
"She was having trouble speaking and couldn't swallow and was having trouble with her co-ordination," he said. "She was in terrible pain.
"They said if her health didn't improve they would have to pull out the kidney. The next thing they are telling us there is not much they can do and we should pay our respects."
Two days after Mrs Sirianni died, the State Coroner's Office called to say they were investigating.
"They said that two other people had also died after getting organs from the same donor," Mr Sirianni said. "They wanted permission to do an autopsy."
Mr Sirianni said his family was keen to meet the families of the two other victims.
President of the International Transplant Society, Australian professor Dr Jeremy Chapman, said only a few cases of organ recipients dying from transmitted diseases had been reported worldwide.
One involved four recipients dying in Britain after being infected with rabies from one donor and cases of recipients dying from acquired HIV infection and from melanoma.
"It is a major issue in transplantation to minimise the risk of disease from a donor to a recipient," Prof Chapman said.
He said infections and cancers could be transmitted from donors to recipients. "That is why there is a rigorous screening process," he said.
Part of the screening includes testing for hepatitis and HIV.
"Unfortunately transplants are not a completely safe activity. For each person they have to weigh up the risks."
A spokesman for the Victorian Coroner's Court confirmed an individual died in December and organs were donated to three other patients, who subsequently died.
"The coroner's office is investigating the possible causes and common links between these deaths," he said.
"A major priority is respect for the family and loved ones who have been affected.
"The coroner's office is in close contact with those involved. Grief counselling and support have been offered to the families."
Austin Health spokesman John Heselev said the hospital was aware of the concerns raised by the Sirianni family.
"A thorough investigation is currently under way and the health service will report the findings to the family," he said.
"There has been no suggestion that any actions by Austin Health staff contributed to the deaths."
A spokesperson for LifeGift, the Victorian organ donation service, said that although the deaths were tragic, Australia had one of the highest overall success rates of transplantation in the world.
That fits with what I am finding, so many reports, that I was afraid to post all of them.
And not all from Chechyna, from other of the small countries that are not that different.
I posted a couple of him giving the 'go ' signal to his KGB, too, back about 3380, I think, I just saw them but did not note the number.
Maybe, things are going to come out in the open, quicker than I expected.
Putin does not hesitate to tell the U.S. to back off.
Good to see you posting.
See 3379 and 3380, there should be others in the area.
3379 is Putin's orders to go for it, to kgb.
See 3379 and 3380, 3381 there should be others in the area.
3379 is Putin's orders to go for it, to kgb.
It takes brains to put the right name on a ping.
I goofed.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1778704/posts
Al Qaeda-linked group vows to widen Iraq attacks
The Star ^ | Feb. 3, 2007 | rard Wynn and Alister Doyle
Posted on 02/03/2007 12:41:16 PM PST by FairOpinion
DUBAI (Reuter) - An Iraqi militant group linked to al Qaeda vowed on Saturday to widen its attacks to all parts of Iraq instead of just focusing on Baghdad, after Washington announced plans to beef up its forces in the capital.
The leader of the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, a body set up by al Qaeda's Iraq wing and other Sunni militant groups in October, said in a Web recording the campaign would stop only "when (U.S. President George W.) Bush signs a surrender accord".
"We today announce a strategy ... which is wider and wiser with God's power. It does not involve Baghdad alone but all parts of the Islamic state," said the speaker, identified as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the group.
In January Bush said he would send 21,500 more U.S. soldiers to Iraq in an effort to crack down on sectarian killings and insurgent attacks, especially in Baghdad.
Baghdadi said Bush was giving Muslim fighters a chance "to slaughter the wounded crusader giant and take advantage of the collapsing morale of its soldiers and commanders".
The authenticity of the tape could not be verified, but it was posted on Web sites used by al Qaeda and other insurgent groups in Iraq.
Baghdadi called on other Sunni Muslim militant groups to join his "state" to unify insurgent ranks.
He warned neighbouring Syria against helping the United States fight the insurgents, arguing that Washington would have acted against Damascus had it not been busy with the war in Iraq.
"The Baathists in Syria should realise that if not for the mujahideen in Iraq they would have been on the gallows, therefore we warn them ... not to help Washington to stop the jihad in Iraq. This is not in their benefit in any way," he said.
Baghdadi said Sunni Islamists would benefit from a possible U.S. strike against Shi'ite Iran, in which he said Washington might use tactical nuclear weapons to neutralise Tehran's nuclear programme.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1778673/posts
Kannapolis churches abuzz about 'disruptions' (Three men enter churches, speak in Hebrew and leave)
WCNC News ^ | February 2, 2007 | NICOLE KONKAL
Posted on 02/03/2007 10:44:41 AM PST by Between the Lines
Kannapolis Police say something very bizarre happened at several churches this past Sunday. It was a disruption, they say, that left some church goers fearful and others saying “it's a God thing.”
Nearly a dozen churches reported the same thing to police: three men walked into their church during Sunday morning’s service. They walked right up to the pulpit and began speaking Hebrew.
David Lewkowicz is the pastor at West Point Baptist Church and understood what they were saying.
“They said things like, ‘God is peace, God is love, God is comfort, God is joy.’ That is all they said to me,” Lewkowicz said.
The men stayed at the churches for about two or three minutes, then left.
“They didn’t say anything bad about God or offend the church in anyway. They came in peace and left in peace,” Lewkowicz said.
Still some other congregations are concerned about exactly what the men may have been up to. One church reported the men dropping to their knees as they entered the door, then they got up and left.
Lewkowicz said it comes with the territory of being a pastor – he has to be ready for just about anything on Sunday mornings.
“We have to be open minded to anyone that may walk through those doors. Some people thought it was cool that some Hebrew guys came in and I understood them. They think it was a ‘God thing.’ We will have to wait and see,” Lewkowicz said.
Police said these men didn’t commit a crime. If they had refused to leave, it would have been a misdemeanor offense. But the church pastors said they were peaceful and posed no threat at the time.
Nevertheless, police want to know who these men are and what their intentions were. If you have any information you are asked to contact the Kannapolis police department, 704-920-4000.
Bump to post 3369, more info on Putin's orders to FSB.
This was sent to me by an old friend, her husband was a Vietnam Marine pilot, when he retired, he became a Texas small town cop, and died about 3 years ago with cancer.
She must still be on the undergroud, police email list, this says it like it should be said and I wanted to share it with you.
granny
Things you should know about Police Officers
Your 5 year old kid getting pushed down by another 5 year old kid is NOT a police matter; talk to the other kid's parents, not the police.
If your kid won't do his homework or do his chores, 911 is not the answer.
If a cop causes a car accident we usually get a ticket, and sometimes we get suspended. When is the last time you got 3 days off (without pay) for rear-ending a guy at Wal-Mart?
If you think you can fan the pot smoke out of the car before we smell it, good luck.
We know you've had more than TWO beers. When I've had two beers, I didn't hit six parked cars, drive my car through the front doors of Toys-R-Us, pee my pants, or pass out at a traffic light.
When you see an emergency vehicle behind you with its lights and sirens on, pull to the RIGHT, and stop. We are usually required to pass cars on the left.
When you're driving in the fast lane and you see a cop behind you, don't go 5 mph under the speed limit. We are not impressed by how safe of a driver you can be, we're trying to go help someone (or catch that guy in the SUV that just cut you off). Safely move over and let us pass please.
If you get a warning instead of a ticket from a motorcycle cop, go buy a lottery ticket, because you've already beaten the odds.
When you see an officer conducting a traffic stop, or with a suspect in handcuffs, it is generally not a good idea to approach him and ask for directions. If you do, don't expect the officer to be nice when he tells you to get lost, and don't expect the officer to take the time to explain.
Here's how to get out of a ticket. Don't break the law.
If you've just been pulled over doing 70 in a 35, do not greet the officer with, "What seems to be the problem, officer?"
When you're the victim of a burglary, take the time you spend waiting for the officer to find the model and serial number to the stuff that was stolen.
Some cops are just jerks, but take heart in the fact that other cops don't like them either.
If it's nighttime and you're driving a vehicle with tinted windows and I pull you over, it's not because of your skin color. I usually can't tell if the vehicle even has a driver until the window rolls down.
Every time you hear on the news about people running away from a crazed gunman, someone's son or daughter, husband or wife, father or mother in a police uniform is running TOWARD that crazed gunman.
If your local police department has a helicopter, everyone knows it's loud and annoying, but did you know it can cover the same area as 20 patrol officers and safely chase criminals that are driving 90 mph through your city streets. Many times the guy has no idea it's there and slows down.
Police work is.......writing reports.
If you rob a gas station you're only going to get about $100, but I get to see a K9 dog use your arm as a chew toy. For all I care you can keep the $100.
In one year of patrol work in a large city, only about ten minutes would be cool enough to be on the television show COPS.
Every traffic stop could end in gunfire, but we have to be polite and professional until that time.
I've taken about the same amount of men and women to jail for domestic violence, so NO, it's not all always the man.
People love fire fighters.
If the light was yellow, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Cops know you pay taxes and that your taxes pay cops' salaries. Cops also pay taxes, which also pay cops' salaries so, "Hey, this traffic stop is on me. Now sign here, press hard, you're making three copies".
Police Officers....our job is to protect your butt....not kiss it.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1778837/posts
Al-Qaeda tells British cells to carry out wave of beheadings
The Sunday Times ^ | February 4 2007 | David Leppard
Posted on 02/03/2007 5:21:49 PM PST by jmc1969
ISLAMIC terror cells in Britain have been instructed to carry out a series of kidnappings and beheadings of the kind allegedly planned by the nine terrorist suspects arrested in Birmingham last week.
The “strategic” assassination instruction was issued by Al-Qaeda’s leaders in Pakistan and Iraq to dozens of their followers in this country. It was uncovered by MI5 last autumn, senior security sources say.
As a result police are on standby for multiple attempts by terrorists to kidnap and then behead people across Britain. MI5 is conducting a counter-terrorism surveillance operation to prevent such an attack.
The alleged attempt to kidnap and behead a Muslim soldier or soldiers in Birmingham was just the first of a series of planned attacks, security sources say.
The revelation explains the recent deployment of a permanent SAS unit to London. The unit has been placed on 24-hour standby to respond to a terrorist attack in the capital. It would aim to carry out a hostage rescue mission within minutes of being alerted.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
February 3, 2007 Anti-Terrorism News
(Iraq) Nine killed in Iraq attacks
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070203/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrest_070203121107;_ylt=Aiznly6gHZIgxmBYHoIZj8hX6GMA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
(Iraq) Car bombings strike Kirkuk, killing 2
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070203/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_kirkuk_bombings_3;_ylt=AvZV76KHivRX26w715JdUzNX6GMA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
7 car bombs, clashes shake northern Iraq
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16957259/
(Iraq) Four Al-Qaeda militants killed in Iraq: US
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070203/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestqaeda_070203115338;_ylt=Aidce0tHYBHw_rHpTAb93qwwuecA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
(Pakistan) Suicide bomber kills 2 Pakistani troops - in the North West
Frontier Province
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070203/ap_on_re_mi_ea/pakistan_suicide_attack_1;_ylt=AueF2I5sQ0q_GsLn5b55SizzPukA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
(Pakistan) Kyrgyz authorities arrest militant linked to Al Qaeda
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C02%5C03%5Cstory_3-2-2007_pg4_17
(Pakistan) Suspected militant kills himself in Pak bomb plot
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/February/subcontinent_February93.xml§ion=subcontinent&col=
(Afghanistan) 27 militants killed in Afghanistan
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\02\03\story_3-2-2007_pg7_2
(Afghanistan) NATO Troops aim to oust Taliban from town
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070203/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan_10;_ylt=ApJE94q2.AwZ5sY6q2iJAeXOVooA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
Saudi police arrest 10 terror suspects - accused of collecting
donations and recruiting on behalf of militant groups
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070203/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saudi_terror_arrests_1;_ylt=AuK9f9MTIi5dyA7Gg15VhcYTv5UB;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
(Philippines) Muslim rebels hold Manila's military chief hostage
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070203/wl_nm/philippines_militants_hostage_dc_1;_ylt=Arm6QE4uTSj_Ce03ND4FCg5UKYUA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
(Somalia) Islamic leader: Peacekeepers fuel unrest
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070203/ap_on_re_af/somalia_14;_ylt=AsoA_goNpsMo1Y8U4hLS.5SQLIUD;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
(India) Two LeT militants arrested in J&K
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Two_LeT_militants_arrested_in_JK/articleshow/1556198.cms
(Hezbollah) Nasrallah admits 'intelligence failure'
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1170359771711&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Update: (Turkey) Turk police probing al Qaeda suspects seize guns -
police have asked the courts to bring charges against 38 people
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L02167897.htm
(US) 9/11 security changes could cost $21 billion
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/02/Security.costs/index.html
FOX News documentary, "Radical Islam: Terror in Its Own Words,"
Saturday Feb. 3 at 9 p.m. EST
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,249521,00.html
Commentary: From Fraud in Norway to Terror in America?
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/terrorism.php?id=%20695423
(UK July 21 Bomb Trial) 'Terrorists turned kitchen into bomb factory'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/03/ntrial03.xml
(UK) Questioning begins for men suspected of terror plot
http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=2020935
(UK) Police fear lurid terror briefings being used to divert attention
from Whitehall problems - Kidnap inquiry is hampered by speculation -
Details broadcast while one suspect at large
http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,2005086,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=11
(UK) Muslim community to meet over kidnap plot raids in Birmingham
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/world/europe/article2212379.ece
(UK) Muslim unrest as police carry out new raids
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/03/nterr03.xml
Video: UK Muslims React to Beheading Plot Busts
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=24272&only&rss
(UK) Disaffected, raging, and hungry for the harsh finality of Sharia
law
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=433462&in_page_id=1770
(UK) Commentary: Nothing is as it Naseems
http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/archives/2007/02/02/nothing_is_as_it_naseems.php
(UK) Channel 4 - Monday February 5 Documentary -"At Home With The
Terrorists"
http://www.channel4.com/news/dispatches/article.jsp?id=1246
(UK) Immigration officers swoop on 47
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/03/nimmig103.xml
Killing of Bin Laden in-law was political: brother
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2007/February/theworld_February87.xml§ion=theworld&col=
(Australia) US charges David Hicks
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21163675-1702,00.html
Other News:
(Pakistan) Christian woman arrested in Pakistan on blasphemy charge
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/February/subcontinent_February96.xml§ion=subcontinent&col=
Imam leads Democrats in prayer of conversion - Muslim leader at party's
winter meeting also asks Allah to stop 'the occupation'
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54085
Feb 2, 2:14 PM EST
U.N. Envoy Unveils Kosovo Proposal
By GARENTINA KRAJA
Associated Press Writer
PRISTINA, Serbia (AP) -- Kosovo took its first tentative steps on the
road to becoming what would look very much like a sovereign nation
Friday after a U.N. envoy unveiled a blueprint for the future of the
tense, ethnically divided Balkan province.
The plan's architect, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, did
not explicitly mention Kosovo's independence from Serbia in the
proposal he presented to Serbian and ethnic Albanian leaders.
But his 58-page roadmap spelled out conditions for internationally
supervised self-rule - complete with the trappings of nationhood,
including a flag, anthem, army and constitution and the right to apply
for membership in international organizations. It envisions a Kosovo
"governing itself democratically and with full respect for the rule of
law."
Both Serbia's pro-Western president, Boris Tadic, and its nationalist
prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, immediately rejected the plan and
reasserted the country's claims to Kosovo as the heart of the ancient
Serb homeland.
"I told Mr. Ahtisaari that Serbia and I, as its president, will never
accept Kosovo's independence," Tadic declared in a statement hours
after meeting with the envoy in Belgrade. Kostunica denounced the plan
as "illegitimate."
In Pristina, Kosovo's provincial capital, President Fatmir Sejdiu said
he and other leaders expected Kosovo to become an independent state
soon, and pledged to guarantee the rights and security of its small
100,000-member Serb minority.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority has long pressed for independence
and fought a bloody war with Serbia in the late 1990s. Yet the mood
was muted in the province Friday.
"It's good, but we're a bit reserved," said Lutfi Maloku, 40, an
ethnic Albanian technician. "It wasn't called independence and it
allows for the Serb minority, which accounts for 5 percent, to hold
lots of power."
Kosovo's prime minister, Agim Ceku, was also disappointed by some
aspects of the plan. "What Ahtisaari described is a sovereign state,
an independent state," he said. "However, this document does not
entail all our expectations, all our demands, what belongs to us. We
will do everything so that his final document at the Security Council
reflects in its entirety the will of Kosovo's people."
Describing his proposal as a draft subject to change, Ahtisaari said
he would invite the rival sides to meet again on Feb. 13 for
negotiations. He said he hoped to present a package to the U.N.
Security Council - which will have the final say on Kosovo's future
status - by the end of March.
Approval there would set the stage for the U.S. and other countries to
formally recognize Kosovo's independence. But there are concerns the
plan may, instead, trigger a showdown between the United States - long
an advocate of an independent Kosovo - and Russia, a traditional ally
of Serbia. Russia is one of five permanent Security Council members
which hold veto power.
Kostunica has threatened to cut off diplomatic ties with any country
that recognizes Kosovo as an independent state.
Ahtisaari, acknowledging that both sides remain far apart, conceded it
could be difficult to come up with a settlement both sides could
accept. "I think that might require so much time that I don't think I
have years in my life to achieve (it)," he said.
His remark seemed to signal that the Security Council could wind up
imposing some kind of settlement.
The European Union called on both the Serbs and ethnic Albanians to be
ready to compromise on the issue of Kosovo's future. "Both sides must
demonstrate responsibility, flexibility and a recognition of the need
for realistic compromised-based solutions," the EU said in a statement.
The United States praised the plan as "fair and balanced," and also
called on both sides to work toward a settlement.
Kosovo has been a U.N. protectorate since 1999, when NATO airstrikes
stopped Serbia's crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanian rebels.
Nearly 10,000 ethnic Albanians were killed in the Serbian onslaught,
and nearly 1 million were forced to flee their homes.
Ahtisaari's plan would protect Serbian Orthodox Church sites and the
Serbian language in the province. Ethnic Albanians, secular Muslims,
account for 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million population.
The plan would also grant the 200,000 Serbs who fled Kosovo after the
war in the wake of revenge attacks by Albanians "the right to return
and reclaim their property and personal possessions."
For Serbs, the plan outlines "a high degree of control" over their own
affairs by granting them six new Serb-administered municipalities and
a greater voice in the higher education and health systems. Serbs also
would be granted "extensive municipal autonomy in financial matters,
including the ability to accept transparent funding from Serbia."
The plan recommends the establishment of an international
representative - similar to the office set up in Bosnia after that
country's bloody 1992-95 war - to oversee day-to-day affairs.
It also includes provisions for a 2,500-member Kosovo security force
which would be overseen by NATO, which now maintains 16,500
peacekeepers in the province.
---
Associated Press writers Dusan Stojanovic, Jovana Gec and Misha Savic
in Belgrade and William J. Kole in Vienna contributed to this story.
---
On the Net:
U.N. envoy for Kosovo, http://www.unosek.org
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
I do not have a url for this.
http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/177762
Thinking like the 'bad guys' the aim of university project TheStar.com - sciencetech - Thinking like the 'bad guys' the aim of university project
Queen's students search for clues to crime in streams of communications
February 03, 2007
Peter Calamai
Science Writer
KINGSTON–David Skillicorn and his students here at Queen's University are in the mining business – mining billions of bits of data for evidence of terrorism, fraud, corporate crime, perjured testimony and even political spin.
Using sophisticated computerized screening programs, they've begun ripping aside the veil of phony normalcy with which terrorists, crooks and liars try to camouflage their real intentions in emails and phone calls.
They've already racked up some successes in the corporate and political spheres, and have promising leads in sniffing out hints of terrorist intent.
But Skillicorn, an expert in the smart management of information, plans to go much further, to penetrate the inner thoughts of people like Osama bin Laden by analyzing the language of his taped harangues.
"How much does he actually believe about what he says and how much is simply pitched to audiences in the Arab world? The good guys have to think like the bad guys," Skillicorn says.
Thinking like the bad guys has carried the 50-year-old professor at Queen's school of computing deep into the bowels of bankrupt Enron Corp., scene of the biggest business fraud of modern times, and onto the fringes of Echelon, the super-secret network of Western governments that intercepts and screens more than 3 billion phone calls and email messages daily.
"Part of the problem in this field is that there is a big wall down the middle and you can't see what's on the other side," says Skillicorn, referring to the research likely also going on inside government counterterrorism agencies.
(Skillicorn suspects that bureaucratic behemoths like the U.S. National Security Agency – 38,000 employees – aren't on the leading edge of this emerging field.)
Funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, a federal granting agency, the Australian-born academic works with a dozen graduate students. Their weapons combine mathematics and computers in an approach to science known as data mining.
Every high-school student learns that science understands through experimentation. But what if you can't run an experiment because the thing under study is inaccessible (like distant galaxies), or realistically can't be controlled (the economy) or involves human decision-making (terrorism, fraud)?
So, instead, you vacuum up as much data as possible from a real system and analyze it for cause and effect to produce a model. Then, you test that model with new data from the same or similar systems.
That's what Skillicorn and colleagues have been doing with a veritable treasure trove for the science of detecting corporate crime – nearly a half-million emails exchanged during more than three years among 1,500 individuals involved in the Enron collapse.
They broke the messages down into two kinds of vocabulary. The first was limited to "Enronspeak," the 7,424 words company employees used in internal emails more frequently than those words are used by the general population. These included words such as "catharsis," "lawsuit" and "leverage."
"This let us pull out the important content of the message without drowning in all the words," Skillicorn says.
Shifting relations between key players in the fraud were revealed by changes in their use of Enronspeak with one another.
The second kind of vocabulary were small, unimportant words that unconsciously shift in communications when people are being deceptive, such as the use of personal pronouns and action verbs. The same test reveals when politicians are spinning a message (see story below).
A similar two-track approach can be applied to detecting the one-in-a-million whiff of terrorism among the phone calls and emails flooding the world. Skillicorn argues that sophisticated data mining is likely the most promising way of combating small and irregular terrorist groups.
"You simply can't live in a nonelectronic world, without email or phone," he says. "The post office is our greatest ally because people can't rely on letters being delivered fast."
Terrorists can't use encryption since coded messages immediately stand out. And they know that operations like Echelon, working with outfits like Canada's Communications Research Establishment, are sifting the communications data for obvious watchwords, such as bomb.
In 2000, for example, the German Federal Intelligence Service was looking for more than 1,000 watchwords connected to the arms trade alone.
So, the bad guys substitute supposedly innocuous words, a move that paradoxically often makes them even easier to spot.
"People are very bad at doing unnatural things naturally," Skillicorn says.
For instance, merely replacing the word "attack" with "wedding" in an email or phone conversation waves a red flag in the detection programs used at the Queen's laboratory, because "attack" is the 1,072nd most common word in English, while "wedding" ranks 2,912th.
Automated computer analysis techniques with arcane names like "singular value decomposition" and "independent component analysis" can flag 95 per cent of this kind of word substitution. But missing even 5 per cent still misses a pretty scary number out of billions of messages daily.
Also troubling is that 10 per cent of the messages tagged as suspicious by the program turn out to be utterly innocent, a proportion that the Queen's professor calls "annoyingly high."
That annoyance springs from a crucial fact: Any system to detect terrorism communications has to be very good at ignoring everything else.
Says Skillicorn: "You're really more like a cop standing by the side of the highway with a radar gun. You don't want it to beep unless the car is speeding. If you're trying to analyze the behaviour of a million people, you don't have time to look at too many in any detail."
Analyzing language is just one application of data mining in adversarial settings.
Other projects underway or on the drawing boards in the lab here include:
# Athens, a web search engine that extends to at least two degrees of separation, making distant connections missed by Google and other direct-link approaches. On Sept. 11, 2001, for example, asking Athens about bin Laden and Al Qaeda would have produced references to Southeast Asia, a link that wasn't then evident but exploded into public view with the Bali bombings.
# Detecting the difference in speech from real and faked schizophrenia, a project of great interest to penitentiary officials locally because prisoners classed as schizophrenic warrant special treatment.
# Spotting early signs of depression among high-school students from the language on their personal web pages.
# Flagging possible perjury of people under oath, again from their choice of vocabulary and sentence construction. A masters student, Ayron Little, is writing her thesis on the analysis of testimony before the Gomery Inquiry.
The project with the most popular appeal, however, is almost certain to be applying the deception detection to the utterances of politicians. Using guidelines developed by James Pennebaker, a psychology professor at the University of Texas, the Queen's lab rated speeches delivered in the last federal election by Paul Martin, Stephen Harper and Jack Layton.
Martin delivered eight of the top 10 spin speeches and Layton two. Harper first appears on the list at the number 13 spot and then claims six of the next seven slots. The five speeches with the least spin were divided among two each for Martin and Harper, and one for Layton.
"Spin is saying something you don't quite believe in," Skillicorn says. "We were surprised at the clear distinction between the two major parties."
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/177908
2 hurt in crash of traffic chopper TheStar.com - News - 2 hurt in crash of traffic chopper
Helicopter goes down in field near Cambridge
February 03, 2007
Ryan Cureatz
Torstar News Service
Two men were rushed to hospital with serious injuries yesterday after a Toronto radio station helicopter crashed west of Cambridge.
The accident occurred around 5:30 p.m. in a field in North Dumfries Township.
Area residents raced to the scene on snowmobiles to help Waterloo regional police, ambulance crews and firefighters, who used airbags to raise the wreckage off one of the victims.
The helicopter, used by all-news radio station AM 640, had taken off from the Region of Waterloo International Airport, a few kilometres northwest of the crash site, police said.
Police said maintenance work had been done on the helicopter before it took off. Both men were taken to Cambridge Memorial Hospital. One was listed in critical condition last night, the other in serious condition.
AM 640 News Director Stephanie Smyth said the helicopter is owned by the Canadian Traffic Network, which provides traffic services to the station. The radio station began using the helicopter last January as part of a new helicopter traffic program by its parent company Corus Entertainment.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the pilot and the mechanic," she said. The two men are employees of Canadian Traffic Network, not the radio station, Smyth said.
The call-in came after children playing at a nearby farm witnessed the crash, Waterloo regional Insp. Bryan Larkin said.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada was called in last night to investigate, Larkin said.
THE RECORD
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/177960
Bus driver killed, 15 kids hurt near Mont-Tremblant TheStar.com - News - Bus driver killed, 15 kids hurt near Mont-Tremblant
February 03, 2007
Canadian Press
MONTREAL – The driver of a bus carrying dozens of children on a ski trip is dead after the bus crashed into a ditch near Quebec's Mont-Tremblant resort.
Police say 15 children, aged 11 and 12, were taken to a local hospital and treated for minor injuries.
The other children on the bus were taken to a nearby ski centre and are being treated for shock.
Police spokesman Claude Denis said the approximately 45 children on the bus were part of a Montreal ski school headed for Mont-Tremblant, about 130 kilometres north of Montreal.
It is not yet clear what caused the accident, but Denis said the bus was the only vehicle involved.
The name and age of the bus driver were not immediately available.
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