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

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/2/584E743C-6DA0-4057-83E7-67D9E765C426.html

Friday, February 9, 2007

Five Russian Youths Sentenced For Killing Jewish Man

Russia -- map
(RFE/RL)
February 9, 2007 -- A court in Russia's Urals city of Yekaterinburg has sentenced five youths to prison terms of up to 10 years for the racially motivated killing of a Jewish man in October 2005.

Prosecutors said the defendants were drunk when they attacked the victim at a city cemetery and stabbed him with a metal cross.

The 21-year-old man died later of his wounds. Russia has seen an increasing number of racially motivated attacks in recent years.

(ITAR-TASS)

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2007 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?fr=yalerts-keyword&c=&p=plane+crash&ei=utf-8

1. Plane crash victim from Manhattan Open this result in new window
Bozeman Daily Chronicle - 2 hours, 49 minutes ago
The registered nurse who died in the Mercy Flight plane crash northwest of Belgrade late Tuesday night was a Manhattan High School graduate. Darcy Dengel, 27, graduated from high school in 1997 and also played on the school's basketball team.
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2. Two People Killed In Plane Crash Open this result in new window
WOAI - 1 hour, 56 minutes ago
Two people are dead after a plane crash in the Hill Country tonight.
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3. Two Survive Small Plane Crash Open this result in new window
ABC Alaska News - 2 hours, 32 minutes ago
Two men are safely back in Dillingham Friday night after surviving a plane crash and waiting almost 16 hours to be rescued. Sixty-nine-year-old Jim Bingman and his friend, 54-year-old Gavin Thompson, were flying from Togiak to Dillingham Thursday night.
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4. Feds to probe Alliance plane crash Open this result in new window
Lincoln Journal Star - 46 minutes ago
ALLIANCE— Federal officials will begin investigating Friday morning the early Thursday crash of a single-engine plane carrying U.S. mail that apparently struck a shed as it landed in an open field, then crashed into a utility pole near Alliance.
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5. PLANE CRASH INVESTIGATION Open this result in new window
KPVI-TV - Feb 09 6:29 PM
An investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board says they will have a preliminary report by next week on yesterday's fatal plane crash in Rexburg.
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6. Kiwi expert investigates plane crash Open this result in new window
Fijilive.com - Feb 09 2:29 PM
Fiji’s interim administration has appointed a New Zealand based expert to investigate a plane crash near Lautoka recently. Andrew MacGregor will begin his investigations immediately.
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7. [ Response to Plane Crash Incredible... ] Open this result in new window
RedNova - Feb 09 10:11 AM
Response to plane crash incredible A note of gratitude to the officers of the Long Beach Harbor Police, Cabrillo Beach lifeguard, Fire Department guys, paramedics, L.A.
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8. Marijuana use by pilot a factor in fatal plane crash, NTSB officials say Open this result in new window
Rocky Mountain News - Feb 09 12:37 AM
The pilot of a small plane who died in a crash last year near Delta that also killed two passengers was impaired by marijuana and likely used the drug within three hours of the crash, federal aviation officials say.
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9. No injuries in W. Ky. plane crash Open this result in new window
Louisville Courier-Journal - Feb 09 4:42 AM
A plane crashed about 6 p.m. last night in Carlisle County, but there were no injuries, according to county dispatchers there. It happened near U.S. 62 in Cunningham, which is about 23 miles southwest of Paducah. State police said county authorities were handling the crash. No other information was available.
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10. NTSB: Marijuana A Factor In Plane Crash Open this result in new window
CBS4 Denver - Feb 09 4:31 AM
Marijuana use was a factor in the crash of a small plane that killed a pilot and his two passengers near Delta last year, a National Transportation Safety Board report said.
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Source: Inverness Courier [edited]
http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/2060/Killer_bug_invasion_at_Raigmore.html

A serious bacterium -- that is killing 3 times more people than MRSA
-- is spreading rapidly throughout Raigmore Hospital's medical and
surgical wards, it was revealed this week. There were 84 cases of
_Clostridium difficile_ associated disease (CDAD) in the Inverness
hospital in 2006, compared to 13 in 2003, and 41 in 2005.

CDAD hit the national headlines in 2006 after 49 people died in 8
months in Leicester after catching the bug. The spread of the
disease, which causes diarrhea, high temperatures, and severe
inflammation, was described as "rapid" and "challenging" to control
by a Raigmore consultant.

A distinguished professor of bacteriology said a possible reason for
the increase could be that overstretched staff did not have enough
time to practice basic hygiene. Hugh Pennington, who spent 40 years
as professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University and was chairman
of the inquiry into the 1996 _E. coli_ outbreak in central Scotland,
also said that many CDAD cases followed antibiotic treatment.

"There's no doubt it kills more people than MRSA, about 3 times more
people," he said. "It produces a poison; a toxic illness that's
really quite serious. It often affects people who are already ill
with something else and it is very often the last straw. "People have
rather underestimated these bugs and are now paying the price. When
CDAD gets itself established in a hospital, it takes quite a long
time to get rid of it."

The internationally respected expert said there were a few possible
reasons for the increase in cases. "It may be due to everything that
hospitals have got to do -- more and more patients is a reason why
staff just don't have the time to do things like basic hygiene," he
explained. "There may be strains of the bug about that are better at
causing mischief and also we are getting better at counting the
number of cases."

He emphasised its spread could be controlled by treatment procedures,
such as using antibiotics more wisely, as well as ensuring high
levels of hygiene among staff, patients and visitors. "It is vitally
important for hospitals to have good old fashioned hygiene in place,"
he added.

Raigmore Hospital's cleanliness was called into question in 2006
after inspectors, who watched cleaners at work, gave it a compliance
rating of only 83.1 percent, the worst in the country. However it
redeemed itself during the following quarter between July and
September 2006, achieving a 92.1 percent pass mark.

Cases of CDAD rose nationally in 2005 by 17 per cent, with 51 000
infections reported to the Health Protection Agency with a death rate
of around 5 percent.

A spokeswoman for Raigmore Hospital said yesterday it was "not aware"
of anyone dying from CDAD in Inverness and highlighted a 40 percent
drop in MRSA levels between 2005 and 2006.

Andrew Hay, NHS Highland consultant microbiologist, outlined measures
to bring the CDAD figures down after his report on the disease was
presented to NHS Highland's board meeting on Tuesday [6 Feb 2007] in
Inverness.

"These include the recent appointment of 2 hand hygiene coordinators
as part of the National Hand Hygiene campaign as well as proposals to
increase the proportion of beds as single cubicles," he said. "There
are also plans to recruit an antimicrobial pharmacist to improve
antibiotic prescribing, which will be influential in controlling the
spread of CDAD."

Dave Petrie, Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP, called for the
return of ward sisters. "We've advocated going back to ward sisters,
someone to monitor people coming in and out."

[Byline: Calum Ross]

--
ProMED-mail
promed@promedmail.org

[It is not clear if any of the cases are due to the hypertoxin
producer, _C. difficile_ ribotype 027. _C. difficile_, however, is a
potentially life-threatening issue even without the hypertoxin
producing strain.

_C. difficile_, along with a number of other often hospital-acquired
(nosocomial) infections such as methicillin-resistant _Staphylococcus
aureus_ and a variety of multidrug-resistant Gram negative bacilli
including _Acinetobacter_ and _Klebsiella_, is difficult to manage in
today's health care environment. The factors responsible for this
are alluded to in the posting.

Modern medicine allows people with potentially rapidly fatal
illnesses to survive longer. These medical interventions include
respiratory support, cancer chemotherapy, multiple indwelling
intravenous and other devices, and aggressive surgery, and leads
individuals at high risk to develop intercurrent infections. The use
and potential abuse of broad spectrum antimicrobials select for
microbes such as those above. With _C. difficile_, previously called
antibiotic-associated colitis, antimicrobial use is a major player in
predisposition to disease but the spores of _C. difficile_ may spread
by inadequate hygiene.

The linchpin in preventing transmission of these agents in the
hospital milieu is aggressive and effective hand-washing before and
after each patient contact. It is the "critical control point" in a
HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) analysis for
diminishing transmission of the bacteria. Having said that, the
development of a hospital-acquired infection is not, per se, an
indication of a misdeed by the healthcare system. In modern medicine,
infections still occur in the best of circumstances and emergent
situations can arise where there is no time even for hand-washing.

A map of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands can be found at:
http://www.cameronandpaterson.co.uk/scotland_map.gif

Mod.LL]

Google Alert - shooting of people on street

Four released over bedroom shooting
ITV.com - UK
The teenager had celebrated his birthday just two days before two men
broke
into the home in Diamond Street and shot him in bed. ...
http://www.itv.com/news/britain_681ea6561ad1b1e27a21b21eed547209.html
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&hl=en&client=google&ncl=1113384724

Iraqi club shooting 'attempted murder': police
Hamilton Spectator - Hamilton,Ontario,Canada
Indeed, just a week ago, four armed men stole a gaming machine from a
James
Street North bar. And in July 2004, three men tried to steal a video
lottery ...
http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1170975026857&call_pageid=1020420665036&col=1014656511815

Cellphone theft a possible trigger in Boxing Day shooting
CBC Toronto - Toronto,Ontario,Canada
... of Steele's cell phone was one of the factors that led to the death
of
Jane Creba, 15, and the wounding of six others in the Yonge Street
shooting. ...
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2007/02/09/cellphone-boxingday.html
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&hl=en&client=google&ncl=1113457582

Man wounded in drive-by shooting
AZFamily (subscription) - Phoenix,AZ,USA
Investigators have not released much information about the shooting
yet.
All they have said is that a person or group of people opened fire as
they
drove by ...
http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/KTVKLNews20070209_drive-by-shooting.67c996fa.html

Shooting Spree Following 'Pavement Rage'
Life Style Extra - UK
John Laidlaw, 24, produced a pistol and shot three people in the space
of
half an hour in two separate shooting incidents in Islington in May
last
year, ...
http://www.lse.co.uk/ShowStory.asp?story=BW933908S&news_headline=shooting_spree_following_pavement_rage

Two Arrested In Connection With Fatal Van Nuys Shooting
MyFox Los Angeles - Los Angeles,CA,USA
Van Nuys -- Two people were in custody this morning in connection with
a
shooting death in a tenant-landlord dispute in Van Nuys, police said.
...
http://www.myfoxla.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2326903&version=3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&hl=en&client=google&ncl=1113449116

Overnight Shooting At Popular Virginia Beach Club
WTKR Your NewsChannel 3 - Norfolk,VA,USA
Investigators say they detained 5 people for questioning. No word yet
if
anyone has actually been arrested. If you have any information on this
shooting, ...
http://www.wtkr.com/Global/story.asp?S=6062558&nav=ZolHbyvj

Retailers' sales surge
Chicago Tribune - Chicago,IL,USA
Luxury retailers fared the best, with sales shooting up 11.2 percent
for
the month. Nordstrom Inc. and Saks Inc. notched sales increases greater
than 11 ...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0702090052feb09,0,4850514.story?coll=chi-business-hed

Breaking News: Deadly Shooting At North Charlotte Apartment Complex
WSOCtv.com - Charlotte,NC,USA
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are on the scene of a deadly shooting at
an
apartment complex on Elgywood Lane. That's off North Tryon Street, near
the
split ...
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/10967727/detail.html

Update: Suspect name released in chase, shooting
WFIE-TV - Evansville,IN,USA
It started around 11 pm Monday on Evansville's eastside and ended on
Highway 41 and Waterworks Road with an officer shooting two people. ...
http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=6049427
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&hl=en&client=google&ncl=1113466559

The rest of the story -- some of our "unsung heroes"
By GuyMuse(GuyMuse)
In another group he worked with, out in a dangerous part of the city,
they would
meet openly out on the street. One time one of my fellow IMB
missionaries went
to visit one of their "street services. " Suddenly a man began shooting
a ...
http://guymuse.blogspot.com/2007/02/rest-of-story-some-of-our-unsung-heroes.html
The M Blog
http://guymuse.blogspot.com/index.html

http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=48353

February 9, 2007 Edition > Section: New York > Printer-Friendly Version
Classified Documents From Iraq Are at Heart of Translator Case

BY JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN - Staff Reporter of the Sun
February 9, 2007
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/48353

A Brooklyn man whose identity is a mystery will go on trial February 20 for allegedly possessing classified documents that he obtained while serving in Iraq as a translator for American forces.

The man, who is likely in his 40s and has gone by a series of pseudonyms, was arrested in 2005. At his apartment on Hoyt Street, law enforcement officials found four documents, all marked "secret," which the man allegedly stole from the 82nd Airborne in Iraq.

In a court filing on Wednesday, prosecutors describe in detail for the first time three of the documents, which have since been declassified. One document, prosecutors say, includes coordinates of locations that American forces suspected were being used to hide weapons of mass destruction. Another included the locations of American artillery positions. A third document provided a list of routes used by Muslim pilgrims leaving Iraq for Mecca, prosecutors say. A fourth document allegedly found on a CD in the man's possession remains classified.

Prosecutors maintain that the man was not authorized to possess classified documents in Iraq, much less take them home with him. In a post-arrest interview, according to the recent government filing, the man told FBI agents that he needed the documents for the cultural awareness classes that he gave to American soldiers while in Iraq.

Under the name Almaliki Nour, the man worked for L-3 Titan Group as a translator for American forces in the area west of Baghdad beginning in 2003. While there, he received high praise from both his employer and the American soldiers with whom he worked, according to court documents.

Prosecutors, however, argue that the man's loyalties lie with Al Qaeda. As proof, the government intends to show jurors several "pro-Al Qaeda" images the man allegedly downloaded from the Internet, prosecutors say in recent filings. One picture, which the government submitted to the court, shows an airplane about to strike the World Trade Center. Beneath the image is a logo of a shipping company and a motto: "We fly things straight to your office." Another image shows a skyline, described as New York's, dominated by mosques and minarets.

Although the defendant is not charged with espionage, prosecutors say the man had ties with leaders of the insurgency in Iraq.

Continued....................

http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=48393

February 9, 2007 Edition > Section: Foreign > Printer-Friendly Version
Gates: We Have Proof of Iranian Role in Iraq

BY LOLITA C. BALDOR - Associated Press
February 9, 2007
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/48393

MUNICH, Germany (AP) - Serial numbers and other markings on bombs suggest that Iranians are linked to deadly explosives used by Iraqi militants, Secretary of Defense Gates said Friday in some of the administration's first public assertions on evidence the military has collected.

While the Bush administration and military officials have repeatedly said Iranians have been tied to terrorist bombings in Iraq, they have said little about evidence to bolster such claims, including any documents and other items collected in recent raids in Iraq.

National security officials in Washington and Iraq have been working for weeks on a presentation intended to provide evidence for Bush administration claims of what they say are Iran's meddlesome and deadly activities.

The materials - which in their classified form include slides and some two inches of documents - provide evidence of Iran's role in supplying Iraqi militants with highly sophisticated and lethal improvised explosive devices and other weaponry. They also lay out Iranian efforts to train Iraqis in military techniques.

Yet, government officials say there is some disagreement about how much to make public to support the administration's case. Intelligence officials worry the sources of their information could dry up.

Among the evidence the administration will present are weapons that were seized in U.S.-led raids on caches around Iraq, one military official in Washington said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Other evidence includes documents captured when U.S.-led forces raided an Iranian office Jan. 11 in Irbil in northern Iraq, the official said. Tehran said it was a government liaison office, but the American military said five Iranians detained in the raid were connected to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard faction that funds and arms insurgents in Iraq.

The assertions have been met with skepticism by some lawmakers still fuming over intelligence reports used by the administration to propel the country to war with Iraq in 2003. Mr. Gates' comments came as a new Pentagon inspector general's report criticized prewar Defense Department assertions of Al Qaeda connections to Iraq.

Speaking with reporters in Seville, Spain, on Friday before traveling to Munich, Mr. Gates told reporters that markings on explosives provide "pretty good" evidence that Iranians are supplying either weapons or technology for Iraqi extremists.

"I think there's some serial numbers, there may be some markings on some of the projectile fragments that we found" that point to Iran, he said.

Mr. Gates' remarks left unclear how America knows the serial numbers are traceable to Iran and whether such weapons would have been sent to Iraq by the Iranian government or by private arms dealers.

continued...........

http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/

above, is a Syria blog.

below, I am not sure:

http://abumuqawama.blogspot.com/index.html

http://www.connpost.com/ci_5189550?source=rss

Shelton school wary after message
'Disturbing' words on computer lead to action
ANNE M. AMATO aamato@ctpost.com
Connecticut Post Online
Article Last Updated:02/09/2007 12:05:39 AM EST
SHELTON — Security has been tightened at Lafayette School after some disturbing words appeared on a computer being used by a student at the elementary school Tuesday.

"What happened was some random words began appearing on one computer and then a sentence we found disturbing," Supt. of Schools Robin Willink said.

That sentence, she said, was "Lafayette School should rest in peace and live happily ever after."

Willink said the computer was confiscated and the school system's technology staff initially investigated the matter, which has since been turned over to police.

"We don't feel it was necessarily threatening in nature, but did take the normal, standard precautions," said Capt. Michael Madden, police spokesman. He said the Police Department's computer expert is working on the case. "We believe the student was on the Internet looking up some information when it happened," he said.

Madden said the student wasn't in a chat room at the time. "It's an open investigation and we are working our way back to see how this happened," Madden said.

Willink said officials are looking at several possibilities.

"Either someone at an offsite location infiltrated the computer system, or it was somebody in the network itself fooling around and got into that computer or the child accidentally got into another wireless environment when she went onto the computer," she said.

Until the matter is resolved, Willink said, a high school security guard will be reassigned to Lafayette.

"We already have a security system in place with all the doors locked and visitors buzzed in," she said.

Madden said the matter was handled properly by school officials.

"We thought the school system and the faculty at Lafayette did an excellent job in handling the incident," he said.

But Sandy Gasiorowski, whose son is a student at Lafayette, said a memo alerting parents about the incident wasn't sent out soon enough.

"The incident happened Tuesday and we didn't find out until dismissal on Wednesday," she said. "I don't usually like to make trouble, but I think we should have been told the day it happened."

Gasiorowski said there's a phone system in place to alert parents. "They can dispatch any message on it, so why didn't they use it?" she said.

She said she's upset and plans to discuss the matter with Willink.

"I'm doing this because I care," she said. "You know there are bomb threats and verbal threats and threats over the Internet. A threat is a threat, no matter what the means."

TURKMENISTAN NEEDS TO CHOOSE ITS FRIENDS CAREFULLY

Moscow will remain the key player, but Turkmenistan may also reach out
to the West.

By IWPR staff in London

As the February 11 presidential election in Turkmenistan draws close,
there is little doubt who will win, but considerable uncertainty about
what will happen next. Will Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov really live up to
his pledges to reform education, health and pensions and give his
people greater opportunities to travel and access information, or will he
revert to the tough style of the man he replaces, the late Saparmurat
Niazov?

On the foreign policy front, most observers agree Russia will remain
Turkmenistan’s key partner, not least because it buys most of the
country’s natural gas. But Turkmenistan’s proximity to Iran is likely to give
it some role to play - albeit unwillingly - in the confrontation
between Washington and Tehran.

At a London briefing held by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting
on January 19 to mark the launch of a new report, Turkmenistan: What
Chance of a Thaw?
[http://www.iwpr.net/?p=rca&s=f&o=328880&apc_state=henprca], there was
consensus among the invited speakers that Russia remains a major player,
but opinion differed on whether this is the only relationship that
really matters to Turkmenistan.

Shohrat Kadyrov, an expert on Turkmen politics living in Norway, is
sceptical that a transition he describes as a “palace revolution” will
make the country more independent of Moscow, or that the relationship will
help Turkmenistan become a better place.

In fact, he said, Berdymuhammedov might turn out to be worse than
Niazov in some respects. Niazov was initially brought to power in the late
Soviet period by reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev, but even then he
did “almost nothing for democracy”.

Niazov was at least “relatively independent” of Putin, said Kadyrov.
Berdymuhammedov, on the other hand, is likely to have the backing of
President Vladimir Putin, who has fewer democratic leanings and is also
tending towards the “re-colonialisation” of former Soviet republics.

Arkady Dubnov, a Russian journalist and Central Asia-watcher who writes
for the Moscow paper Vremya Novostey, said Turkmen foreign policy was
likely to continue to revolve around gas exports.

One fact of life for the new leadership, he said, was that “until
Berdymuhammedov has access to Niazov’s treasury, the accounts of which are
probably frozen… the gas income from Russia will remain extraordinarily
important”.

“Turkmenistan now depends much more on Russia [than the other way
round] when it comes to gas, just as Russia depends more on Europe. We live
in times when the seller of energy resources is more dependent on the
buyer than vice versa,” said Dubnov.

In the short term, Moscow is likely to try to re-engage with
Turkmenistan by encouraging it to join former Soviet groupings from which Niazov
distanced himself, for instance the Eurasian Economic Community.

Dubnov expects Berdymuhammedov to make positive noises in response to
these advances - but he says this does not make a rapprochement
inevitable. “The more Berdymuhammedov consolidates his power, the less he will
listen to Moscow,” he said.

Instead of relying solely on Moscow, a Berdymuhammedov administration
may reach out to the West as it seeks acceptance and legitimacy.

Dubnov said the government’s unexpected decision to invite the OSCE to
monitor the presidential election was significant. “I see this as a
sign that not all policy-making in the new Turkmenistan will be in
accordance with what Moscow wants,” he said.

Niazov’s successors are likely to be just as keen to diversify the
country’s gas export routes as he was. Although the western-sponsored plan
to lay a gas pipeline under the Caspian Sea has seemed an unlikely
prospect until now, Dubnov believes the United States could now start
pushing for it to happen.

He said the way was open for Turkmenistan to take a new approach to the
disputed status of the Caspian and its oil and gas resources. In the
past, personal animosity between Niazov and the late president Heidar
Aliev of Azerbaijan obstructed a solution to their bilateral dispute over
certain oil and gas fields. With both men now gone, their successors
can at least begin discussing possible solutions.

Niazov also found it difficult to get on with President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad of Iran, in contrast to his cordial relationship with the former
president Hashemi Akbar Rafsanjani.

“Now that Niazov has gone, Tehran very much wants to make up for lost
time with the new leadership, and there will be a flurry of [Iranian]
activity on the Turkmenistan front,” said Dubnov.

Ashgabat’s diplomatic relationship with Tehran also depends on Russia
and the US. Within the region, the key relationship is between Moscow
and Tehran, with Ashgabat a lesser player.

The challenge for Berdymuhammedov is to position his government in such
a way that it avoids antagonising either the Americans or the Iranians,
so that it “reduces the risk of being drawn into the confrontation
between Iran and the United States”, said Dubnov.

The US has a major interest in Turkmenistan as one of the closest
staging posts to Iran. In particular, said Dubnov, the new Turkmen
government will have to contend with American pressure to use a major military
airbase at Mary in southern Turkmenistan.

Aside from external pressures, Berdymuhammedov and his allies still
have to strengthen their own position to make themselves invulnerable to
domestic challenges.

Dadadjon Azimov, a Central Asian expert based in London, picked out key
findings of the research and interviews he conducted to produce the
IWPR report. The big question, he said, was whether the system left behind
by Niazov was sustainable.

Turkmen society as a whole seems apolitical, and regional powerbrokers
rather than grassroots movements may be the most likely form of
anti-regime mobilisation.

Among the analysts he spoke to, “no one knew in what form and in what
shape anti-regime mobilisation would take place, and how possible clans
would challenge the regime”, he said. The reason, he said, was that “if
there’s a revival of clans and a possible emergence of regional
groupings against the regime, this is at the very initial stages”.

Dubnov said it was important not to view Berdymuhammedov in isolation;
in fact he is “only the tip of the iceberg” of a largely invisible
political elite, among whom the key figure is Akmurad Rejepov, head of the
Presidential Guards, a paramilitary security force.

“There is no doubt it is Rejepov who is in control of Berdymuhammedov
and his [election] promises. One cannot underestimate the figure of
Rejepov,” said Dubnov.

But at the same time, he believes it could be Berdymuhammedov and not
Rejepov who is the long-term political survivor.

“Berdymuhammedov could turn into a kind of Turkmen Brezhnev,” said
Dubnov, referring to Soviet Communist Party chief Leonid Brezhnev who
stayed in power from the Sixties to the early Eighties. “Initially Brezhnev
seemed to be a weak transitional figure, but because he suited a lot of
[different] groupings in the Kremlin….he hung on for so long that they
learned how to manipulate him.”

Guvanch Geraev of RFE/RL gave an update on what he and his colleagues
are hearing from its contacts about the mood inside Turkmenistan.

Despite the lingering “fear factor”, he said, people are gradually
becoming emboldened to speak out and are really expecting some kind of
change, in light of the reforms and improved public services that all the
presidential candidates are promising.

Two practical things that people agree on are that rampant drug abuse
should be tackled and dissenters now held in prison should be amnestied.

The seminar was held at the end of a project in which IWPR presented
news and analysis out of Turkmenistan in online text and audio format,
with possibly the first-ever podcasts made in the Turkmen language. Many
of the stories were picked up and broadcast by Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty's Turkmen Service to its audience inside Turkmenistan. The
material was made available on a special page,
[http://www.iwpr.net/?p=trk&s=p&o=-&apc_state=henprca]

More poisoned in Russian spy case
By Natalie Paris and agencies
Last Updated: 1:24am GMT 09/02/2007

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/08/npoison108.xml

Two more people have tested positive for polonium 210, the radioactive
substance which caused the death of former Russian spy Alexander
Litvinenko.

Public health officials today announced that the total number of
people testing positive and now facing health risks stands at 15.

Polonium exposure has been linked to members of the public who
frequented the same areas as Litvinenko on November 1, the day he fell
ill.

advertisementLast month, the Health Protection Agency said that 116
people had shown signs of exposure to polonium, not including foreign
nationals being investigated abroad.

The 15 who face health risks are mostly hotel staff who are thought to
have received radiation doses above six millisieverts.

The dose that killed Litvinenko was apparently many thousands of times
greater than this.

The Russian visited a number of places before falling ill, including
the Millennium Hotel and an Italian restaurant in Mayfair as well as
the Itsu sushi bar in Piccadilly.

Bulgarian Airplane Pilot Caught Drunk in Germany

A Bulgarian transport plane pilot was busted operating a flight under
the
influence of alcohol in the end of January, local Trud daily reported.

Todor Chanev, who has over 15 years of experience on the job, smelled
of
alcohol so strongly that the authorities at Berlin's Tegel Airport
decided
to test him. His blood alcohol levels were 0.7 promilles and the man
had
just landed a flight from France, Trud daily reported.

Chanev was transporting musical instruments through Berlin to Bulgaria,
on
board a An-12 plane owned by Bulgarian company Bright Aviation.

"If the ground would just open up, I'd sink right in, I am so ashamed,"
the
company's CEO Sergey Petkov commented. He didn't even bother listen to
Chanev's defense (that he had indeed been drinking but it was the night
before the flight) and is now waiting for a blood sample to confirm the
preliminary measurements so he can sack the pilot.

"This incident will be a disaster for Bulgaria's aviation, because it
happened right as we were trying to convince the European Commission
that
the Russian An-12 planes are very good," Stanislav Stanoulov, Chief of
the
Bulgarian Air Carriers Association commented.

The flight licences of The whole plane crew were bereived of their
flight
licences. The aviation comapny wil undergo thorough administrative and
staff
checks.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=76437

NTSB Eyes Procedures In King Air Mishap

The NTSB's investigation of a King Air B200 that landed safely last
Friday
after suffering serious structural damage is likely to focus on cockpit
checklists and procedures, along with radar data collection. N777AJ was
headed from Rogers, Ark., for Stanton, Va., when it encountered
complications after suffering a shattered (but not blown out)
windshield at
27,000 feet, and ultimately rained parts down on an aeromedical
helicopter
flying below. The helicopter was not struck by debris and the King Air
landed at Cape Giraradeau, Mo., with buckled wing skins and empennage
and
much of the horizontal stabilizer and elevator missing. The King Air's
pilot, Sheldon Stone, said in early reports that the aircraft suffered
a
shattered left windshield at altitude and he then depressurized the
cabin to
prevent a blowout. According to the King Air pilot operating manual,
the
"abnormal checklist" for a cracked windshield specifies a descent to
10,000
feet or other methods to reduce the pressure differential to less than
3 PSI
within 10 minutes. After depressurizing the cabin, Stone and his
copilot
then donned their oxygen masks and turned on the valve, but no oxygen
appeared to be forthcoming. The sole-occupant pilots then passed out.
Stone,
a 4,200 hour ATP-rated pilot, said he awoke at 7,000 feet and recovered
the
aircraft.
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/NTSB_King_Air_Mishap_194418-1.html

Man who threatened Delta flight charged

A New York man who allegedly threatened Delta Air Line employees and
caused
a nonstop transcontinental flight to be diverted to Salt Lake City was
charged Tuesday with interference with a flight crew.
Thomas J. McSherry, 42, of Hampton Bay, N.Y., appeared to be "under
some
kind of influence" when he boarded Flight 1671 on Monday and was seated
in
seat 3A, according to an FBI affidavit. It says McSherry was upset
about his
first-class accommodations and refused to buckle his seatbelt or follow
other safety rules.
In addition, McSherry allegedly made offensive remarks about the
Russian
nationality of a flight attendant and threatened to "kick his ass." The
flight captain then decided to divert the nonstop San Francisco-to-New
York
City flight to Salt Lake City, where McSherry was arrested.
Police and FBI agents who questioned McSherry noted that he was
agitated and
smelled of alcohol, the affidavit says. McSherry denied using foul
language
or making threats, but acknowledged he had complained about the level
of
service.
While being transported to jail, McSherry used profane language and
accused
the flight attendant of having a "hissy fit," the affidavit alleges.
If convicted, McSherry faces up to 20 years in prison.
http://origin.sltrib.com/news/ci_5173571

Laser a menace to pilots at airport

Bureau: 'We don't think this is very funny at all'

A green beam has greeted pilots flying into Salt Lake City
International
Airport this week, prompting a federal investigation into what agents
believe could pose a safety threat.
Pilots reported a green laser hitting their cockpits twice Monday and
three
times Tuesday, according to airport police spokeswoman Barbara Gann.
The planes landed safely without any harm to the pilots, but
investigators
say the laser-pointing prank is no laughing matter. In September 2004,
a
Delta pilot suffered a retinal burn when the cockpit of a Boeing 737
was
struck by a red laser about five miles from the Salt Lake City airport.
"We don't think this is very funny at all," said Patrick Kiernan,
spokesman
for the FBI in Utah.
The Federal Aviation Administration linked lasers to temporary
blindness and
disorientation in an October 2006 report. While cases of ocular injury
are
rare, FAA officials fear laser-pointers could someday cause a deadly
distraction.
The federal agency reported 90 cases of laser strikes between January
2004
and January 2005. The FAA recorded one injury and no accidents.
FBI investigators haven't identified the perpetrators of this week's
incidents at the Salt Lake City airport. They declined to say where the
laser originated, but said it struck commercial and private airplanes
as
they approached the airport.
Kiernan urged anyone with information to contact the FBI's Salt Lake
City
office at 579-1400.
"Anytime you distract a pilot when he is landing a plane or taking off
a
plane, there can be significant and serious consequences," he said.
"They
have to be at the top of their game at those stages of the flight."
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5181911

[this is a snippet, the date appears to be 2005, and it is on a Viet Nam website, but it was on a different Viet Nam site that has a good history article, I will put that link at the end..granny]

http://www.nationalistvietnameseforum.com/Nationalist%20Vietnamese%20Forum/Pages/Article%2077.htm

War Is Not Far from Us and Is the Midwife of the Chinese Century
Leading CCP official argues for exterminating U.S. population

By Chi Haotian
Aug 08, 2005

[snipped]

We also must never forget what Comrade Xiaoping emphasized “refrain from revealing the ambitions and put others off the track.” The hidden message is: we must put up with America; we must conceal our ultimate goals, hide our capabilities and await the opportunity. In this way, our mind is clear. Why have we not updated our national anthem with something peaceful? Why did we not change the anthem’s theme of war? Instead, when revising the Constitution this time, for the first time we clearly specified “March of the Volunteers” is our national anthem. Thus we will understand why we constantly talk loudly about the “Taiwan issue” but not the “American issue.” We all know the principle of “doing one thing under the cover of another.” If ordinary people can only see the small island of Taiwan in their eyes, then you as the elite of our country should be able to see the whole picture of our cause. Over these years, according to Comrade Xiaoping’s arrangement, a large piece of our territory in the North has been given up to Russia; do you really think our Party Central Committee is a fool?

To resolve the issue of America we must be able to transcend conventions and restrictions. In history, when a country defeated another country or occupied another country, it could not kill all the people in the conquered land, because back then you could not kill people effectively with sabers or long spears, or even with rifles or machine guns. Therefore, it was impossible to gain a stretch of land without keeping the people on that land. However, if we conquered America in this fashion, we would not be able to make many people migrate there.

Only by using special means to “clean up” America will we be able to lead the Chinese people there. This is the only choice left for us. This is not a matter of whether we are willing to do it or not. What kind of special means is there available for us to “clean up” America? Conventional weapons such as fighters, canons, missiles and battleships won’t do; neither will highly destructive weapons such as nuclear weapons. We are not as foolish as to want to perish together with America by using nuclear weapons, despite the fact that we have been exclaiming that we will have the Taiwan issue resolved at whatever cost. Only by using non-destructive weapons that can kill many people will we be able to reserve America for ourselves. There has been rapid development of modern biological technology, and new bio weapons have been invented one after another. Of course we have not been idle; in the past years we have seized the opportunity to master weapons of this kind. We are capable of achieving our purpose of “cleaning up” America all of a sudden. When Comrade Xiaoping was still with us, the Party Central Committee had the perspicacity to make the right decision not to develop aircraft carrier groups and focus instead on developing lethal weapons that can eliminate mass populations of the enemy country.

From a humanitarian perspective, we should issue a warning to the American people and persuade them to leave America and leave the land they have lived in to the Chinese people. Or at least they should leave half of the United States to be China’s colony, because America was first discovered by the Chinese. But would this work? If this strategy does not work, then there is only one choice left to us. That is, use decisive means to “clean up” America, and reserve America for our use in a moment. Our historical experience has proven that as long as we make it happen, nobody in the world can do anything about us. Furthermore, if the United States as the leader is gone, then other enemies have to surrender to us.

Biological weapons are unprecedented in their ruthlessness, but if the Americans do not die then the Chinese have to die. If the Chinese people are strapped to the present land, a total societal collapse is bound to take place. According to the computation of the author of Yellow Peril, more than half of the Chinese will die, and that figure would be more than 800 million people! Just after the liberation, our yellow land supported nearly 500 million people, while today the official figure of the population is more than 1.3 billion. This yellow land has reached the limit of its capacity. One day, who knows how soon it will come, the great collapse will occur any time and more than half of the population will have to go.

We must prepare ourselves for two scenarios. If our biological weapons succeed in the surprise attack [on the United States], the Chinese people will be able to keep their losses at a minimum in the fight against the United States. If, however, the attack fails and triggers a nuclear retaliation from the United States, China would perhaps suffer a catastrophe in which more than half of its population would perish. That is why we need to be ready with air defense systems for our big and medium-sized cities. Whatever the case may be, we can only move forward fearlessly for the sake of our Party and state and our nation’s future, regardless of the hardships we have to face and the sacrifices we have to make. The population, even if more than half dies, can be reproduced. But if the Party falls, everything is gone, and forever gone!

continues...........

This is where I found the above artice:

http://suutamlichsu.blogspot.com/2007/02/news.html

http://suutamlichsu.blogspot.com/2007/02/biet-them-ve-ho-chi-minh-letter.html

MORE ABOUT HO CHI MINH

Research by LE VAN TIEN

for NGUOI VIET & THE KY 21 Publishing Co.

Courtesy NGUOI VIET & THE KY 21

Translated by VQ Homepage from the original version in Vietnamese

]]]

The following research is by Mr. Le Van Tien, pen name Nhu Phong, a scholar in Saigon who is well known in issues concerning Communism and particularly the Vietnamese Communist regime. He was incarcerated in Communist prison camps after April 30, 1975.

After resettled in the USA , Mr. Tien has continued his researches on the same domain. His latest work is about facts of Ho Chi Minh's true life, with newly found written materials that Mr. Tien searched out from official archives in France. The materials supplement and confirm documents previously revealed by other researchers.

continues...........

China Defense Minister Chi Haotian - War is inevitable

Foreign Affairs News
Source: Cheng Ming/BBC
Published: 1-4-00
Posted on 01/12/2000 21:07:36 PST by tallhappy
I’m posting this as a follow up to this thread, China-US war inevitable, says Defense Minister

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a387d5d981738.htm

http://www.google.com/search?q=Chi+Haotian&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US

http://www.google.com/search?q=Guangkai&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US

http://www.google.com/search?q=Chi+Haotian%3A+War+is+inevitable+&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US

http://www.google.com/search?q=Zhang+Wannian&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a387d035e6499.htm

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/5-8-5/30931.html

The CCP’s Last-ditch Gamble: Biological and Nuclear War
Hundreds of millions of deaths proposed
By San Renxing
Epoch Times Staff
Aug 08, 2005

Graphics by The Epoch Times New York staff; Photos (C) Getty Images

As The Epoch Times’ Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party spreads ever wider in China, it is awakening Chinese people to the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and inspiring them to cancel their Party memberships. With the number of people quitting the Party growing rapidly by the day, the Communist Party sees that the end is near.

In a show of strength to save itself from demise, the CCP has brought out a sinister plan that it has been preparing for years, a last-ditch gamble to extend its life. This plan is laid out in two speeches written by Chi Haotian, Minster of Defense and vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, and posted on the Internet. The background surrounding the speeches is still shrouded in mystery. The titles of the two speeches are “War Is Approaching Us” [1] and “ War Is Not Far from Us and Is the Midwife of the Chinese Century.” The two, judging from their similar contexts and consistent theme, are indeed sister articles.

These speeches describe in a comprehensive, systematic, and detailed way the CCP’s nearly 20 years of fear and helplessness over its doomed fate, and its desperate fight to extend its life. In particular, the speeches lay uncharacteristically bare what is really on the CCP’s mind and hide nothing from the public—a rare confession from the CCP that can help people understand its evil nature. If one truly understands what is said in this confession, one will immediately catch on to the CCP’s thinking.

In short, the speeches are worth reading, and I would like to comment on them.

continues.............

snipped............

What is the situation on the world stage, then? Actually, for the CCP, things have come to a life-and-death, historical moment.

A proverb goes, “The outsiders look for the loudest clatter, but the insiders know the real skills.” It’s not that the United States doesn’t know who is the true source of disasters in this world and who is the undisputed axis of evil. Who is the forerunner and consistent sponsor of terrorism? Who is spreading nuclear weapons to North Korea, Iran, and Libya through Pakistan? Who is instigating Kim Jong-Il, Osama Bin Laden, and Saddam Hussein on the front stage, so that it can win time to research and develop weapons of mass destruction (especially biological weapons) behind the curtain?

Through the war against terror, Bush has learned that the key to defeating the CCP is not military confrontation but promotion of the concept of freedom. While completing the adjustment in his focus in global military strategy, he declared the importance of freedom in the 21st century: the United States understands its national safety is closely related to the success of democracy around the world. World peace depends on the progress of freedom around the world. His 17-minute second inaugural speech used the word “freedom” 27 times. That speech tolled the bell of history to bury completely all dictatorships, and to push forward a magnificent wave of democracy in the world. The Velvet Revolution is being echoed around the world by other movements including the Purple Revolution in Iraq, the Rose Revolution in Georgia, the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan, and the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon.

Liu Yazhou, a sharp and well-known child of high-ranking CCP officials, exclaimed in astonishment: The United States’ anti-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan are not what is most frightening for China; what is most frightening is the wave of democracy around China. However, the CCP’s greatest fear is not democracy but the deep, inescapable crisis it has fallen into.

We are helpless to stop petals falling off a dying flower. Eighty years of beautiful imaginations turn out to be but a daydream. Eighty years of a so-called revolutionary course turns out to be killing and accumulating retribution. Eighty years of fabricated, glorious history of the CCP turn out to be notes for the prosecution in the court of justice.

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-2-9/51486.html

Are Canadian Taxes Paying for Stolen Organs?
By Matthew Little
Epoch Times Victoria Staff
Feb 09, 2007

A reenactment of an organ harvesting surgery (The Epoch Times)

Related Articles
- Chinese Officials Still Killing Falun Gong for Organs, Report Says Thursday, February 01, 2007
- Chinese Regime Admits To Organ Harvesting From Prisoners Wednesday, January 24, 2007
- Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China Friday, July 07, 2006
- David Kilgour: Is Peace Just Wishful Thinking? Monday, January 15, 2007
- VIPs Call on China to Allow Investigation Into Organ Harvesting Sunday, December 24, 2006
- Despite New Law, Illegal Organ Harvesting Continues in China Saturday, January 27, 2007
- Religious Freedom and Falun Gong in China Saturday, December 09, 2006

Taxpayers could be footing the bill for patients who receive organ transplants from persecuted groups in China, says a recent report.

A revised report on organ harvesting in China entitled "Bloody Harvest" concludes that a major portion of the organs being used in China's booming transplant trade come from unwilling donors, most notably Falun Gong practitioners.

The report, authored by former MP David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas, details how a sudden explosion of organ transplants in China in 2000 coincided with mass arrests and imprisonment of tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners.

The report also states that a high proportion of transplant recipients come from countries other than China.

In British Columbia, about 42 people have traveled to China for transplants in the past 5 to 10 years, according to BC Transplant Society spokesperson Ken Donahue. He said BC does not reimburse patients that receive transplants in other countries but they can receive aftercare once they return

One of the recommendations of the report was that Canadian patients who travel to China for organ transplants should not be reimbursed for the cost of their surgery or covered for aftercare until China stops harvesting organs from any prisoner, be they prisoners of conscience or otherwise.

Donohue said that although the implications of the organ harvesting report were disturbing, it was unlikely patients would ever be denied care, whether they got an organ from an unwilling donor or not.

"I'm not saying we're not outraged, of course we are," he said, referring to the findings of the report. Donohue believes that one way to stop Canadians from getting organ transplants in China is for the provinces to outlaw the businesses that facilitate such trips.

With chronic wait lists across the country, some provinces are willing to pay for residents to travel for emergency surgeries. However, if those surgeries are for organ transplants in China, the source of the organs could be Falun Gong practitioners or others killed for their organs.

Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia all have reimbursement policies for people who seek emergency medical services outside the province, say spokespeople for those ministries of health.

Sarah Plank, a spokesperson for the BC Ministry of Health, said British Columbia will send patients to Alberta and Washington for emergency surgeries that are unavailable in BC, but does not send people overseas.

However, she was unsure whether anything in the policy stipulated that patients could not be sent overseas to places like China. Ontario and Alberta also have polices to reimburse out-of-province patients, but spokespeople for neither ministry could confirm the specifics of those policies.

It was uncertain in all three provinces whether their health ministries had any policies to ensure organs were ethically obtained or whether patients were warned of the ethical implications of travelling to China for an organ transplant. In Ontario and BC, the surgery must be approved and applied for by a physician in the province.

The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons said it's "not within their mandate" to have doctors warn patients of illicit organ harvesting in China.

Lorne Hollingshead and Auruna Thurairajan own Alberta-based company that arranges for people to go overseas to receive treatments that are difficult to get in Canada because of the long waitlists. While the company used to deal mainly with people seeking hip and knee replacements, Hollingshead said their customers have been looking for a larger variety of treatments in recent years.

He said some have sought organ transplants from hospitals in China. He believes the majority of people travelling to China for organ transplants from Canada would likely be Chinese immigrants who are familiar with that medical system. When asked if he or his wife ever warned patients seeking a transplant in China that there was possibility the organ came from an unwilling donor, he deferred the questions to his wife who is out of the country for two weeks.

Just as pedophiles can be charged in Canada for having sex with children in other countries, the report says Canada should enact similar extra-territorial legislation that would penalize Canadians who participate in organ harvesting without the consent of the donor.

The authors also recommend that doctors from China should not receive visas to enable them to train in organ transplantation surgery in Canada.

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-2-9/51530.html

IAEA Cuts Back Aid Projects in Iran in Nuclear Row
Reuters
Feb 09, 2007

An Iranian security officer stands near a camera installed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to survey Iran's Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facilities (UCF), 420 kms south of Tehran, 03 February 2007. (Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images)

VIENNA—The U.N. nuclear agency has cut back almost half its technical aid projects in Iran to uphold U.N. sanctions imposed on Tehran over its disputed atomic energy programme, according to a report obtained by Reuters on Friday.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani is attending a security conference in Germany on Saturday, where U.N. officials hope talks with European policymakers will allow some breathing space in the atomic row with the West.

Organisers of the Munich Security Conference, bringing together some of the world's top politicians, earlier said Larijani had cancelled due to illness but confirmed late on Friday that he would attend.

The aid reduction, based on a review by International Atomic Energy Agency experts, will go for final approval to a March meeting of the IAEA's board of governors, where Western and developing states are split over how hard to crack down on Iran.

"This is a substantial cut in the technical aid programme for Iran," said a senior U.N. official familiar with it. "It is a message of inducement to Iran to reconsider its course."

Iran was hit with sanctions over its failure to prove to the IAEA that experimental efforts to enrich uranium are geared solely to generating electricity as it maintains. The West suspects Iran wants to produce fuel suitable for atom bombs.

Of 55 IAEA technical aid projects in Iran, 10 were halted entirely and 12 restricted as they could violate the Dec. 23 Security Council sanctions resolution against Tehran. Forty of the 55 projects are run in neighbouring states as well.

"No technical cooperation may be provided to Iran that relates to the proliferation of sensitive nuclear activities specified in the resolution", namely enrichment of uranium, fuel reprocessing or heavy water production, the IAEA review said.

Projects stopped as a result of the U.N. watchdog's confidential reassessment, issued in the name of IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei, related mainly to strategic nuclear power planning and generation of nuclear fuel.

"Chain Reaction" Feared

The U.N. resolution bans transfers of sensitive nuclear materials and know-how to Iran as well as IAEA aid, traditionally given to bolster peaceful uses of nuclear energy, if it has any possible use in producing atomic fuel.

IAEA projects in Iran have fostered development of radio-pharmaceuticals and isotopes for medical care and agriculture, radioactive waste management, nuclear power planning and safety regulations, and training courses.

How broadly to apply the definition of banned projects is the subject of a brewing battle between the West and developing states on the Vienna-based IAEA's 35-nation policymaking board.

A U.S. official said Washington had made its own study of IAEA technical aid for Iran and would consult with other board members before adopting a position for the March meeting.

Before Friday's review, diplomats said the United States and close allies wanted a considerable number of projects in Iran cancelled, curbed or put under close surveillance.

Developing nations have argued for much smaller cuts, noting there is no hard evidence Iran is diverting IAEA resources to bombmaking and fearing a precedent jeopardising technical aid they have been routinely receiving for decades.

Western diplomats have said there would be little to talk in Germany about unless Larijani came showing a new Iranian willingness to suspend uranium enrichment as demanded by the U.N. resolution. Tehran has given no such indication.

German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said the meeting with Larijani had been arranged with an eye to a Feb. 21 U.N. Security Council deadline for Iran to stop enriching uranium for nuclear fuel or risk broader financial sanctions.

Earlier, ElBaradei urged the two sides to avoid "an uncontrolled chain reaction" towards conflict and said he hoped a solution would be raised at the Munich meeting.

He appealed to both sides to take a simultaneous "time out", with Tehran suspending their efforts to produce nuclear fuel and major powers suspending their steps to carry out sanctions.

"If we only focus on sanctions ... that confrontation (risks) ending in an uncontrolled chain reaction ... In the Middle East today, where it's like a ball of fire, you have to be very cautious," ElBaradei said.

Iran has promised an announcement of "significant" nuclear progress on Sunday when it crowns 10 days of celebrations marking the anniversary of its 1979 Islamic revolution.

Washington is building up forces in the Gulf but says it is committed to diplomacy and has no intention of invading Iran.

http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readarticle.asp?articleid=11034&z=3&p=

Seventh suspect arrested in major ID theft ring
NBC2 News
Last updated on: 2/9/2007 11:07:47 AM

LEE COUNTY: Authorities have arrested a seventh person in an alleged identity theft ring that victimized people in three different counties.

Michael Staiano, 25, was arrested on Thursday.

He and six others are charged with 179 different crimes, including things like conspiracy, grand theft, fraudulent use of a credit card; and criminal use of personal identification.

This all began back in September of 2006 when the Lee County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint regarding identity theft – that complaint sparked a four month long investigation.

Detectives discovered that a driver’s license was stolen from a mailbox and the crooks then attempted to use it to get a credit card.

Authorities identified James Estrella as a suspect and when they tracked him down at a Fort Myers motel he had the stolen driver’s license.

Detectives searched his room and found equipment needed to make fake checks.

They also found evidence that six other people were involved and that the ID theft ring had been operating in Lee, Charlotte and Collier counties.

Here is a list of all those arrested in this case:

* James Estrella, 37 – North Fort Myers
* Lana Earle, 37 – Lehigh Acres
* Michelle Staiano, 26 – North Fort Myers
* Judelais Joseph, 23 – Fort Myers
* John Bixenman, 29 – Cape Coral
* Lisa Deckman, 28 – Fort Myers.
* Michael Staiano, 25 – North Fort Myers