I would say that Kovtun looks like what he is, a youngish man who has been handed a death sentence.
The man is thinking thoughts, that cannot be put into words.
Russia is good at putting people in the hospital, often the mental hospital, so look for it to 'lodge in his brain'.
[from a news group]
UNAVOIDABLE EXPLOSION IN PA
(Article by Dr. Guy Bechor, Yediot Ahronot, 17.12.06, p. A3)
[Translation provided by the GPO]
Abu Mazen's speech yesterday was met with genuine worry in the Palestinian
streets, despite the Fatah movement's rejoicing.
Everyone knows that the worst is yet to come.
It is uncertain whether Abu Mazen meant to dismiss Haniyeh's Government,
dissolve the Hamas Parliament and go to elections. His speech has a
tactical aspect of applying pressure on Hamas in order to advance a national
unity government but it seems that he has already missed the train.
Following a weekend of violence and counter-violence, the chances of such a government are negligible. In my opinion, there was no chance for it to
begin with.
The tension between the two sides is tremendous, with each faction yearning
to fight and arming itself with whatever comes to hand. That is what will
happen when events in the field oblige Abu Mazen to implement his call for
elections, the result of which will be a general conflagration. This is a
grave development for Palestinian society.
Hamas will in no way allow Fatah and Abu Mazen to cancel the great
accomplishment it reaped by legally gaining control over the parliament and
the government. In its view, this is not only a Palestinian development,
but rather a pan-Arab precedent of political Islam gaining control of an
Arab state.
If Hamas has no option, it will defend its accomplishment with armed force,
which it has. That is what happens when an undemocratic movement comes to
power democratically - and from that point on it is no longer interested in
hearing about democracy which might bring about its fall.
I do not ever recall such a serious exchange of accusations between Hamas
and Fatah, coming after a series of terrifying murders, which genuinely
shocked Palestinian society - murders and counter-murders, gunshots,
accusations, vehement cursing and specific threats. It seems that Abu Mazen
inadvertently brought the Palestinians closer yesterday to a general
deterioration.
Therefore, to the Palestinians' chagrin, this is the choice that they are
left with today: Between bad and worse.
Only a few years ago they had the world in their pocket. Israel was a
generous neighbor. Europe was smiling and America was supportive. With
great talent, the Palestinians wasted all of the credit that the world had
given them.
The Palestinians could have founded a flourishing, prosperous country next
to one of the strongest economies in the world -
Israel's. But they choose to become a new Somalia, with militia wars, a
tottering economy, revenge attacks and a totally wretched national future.
[The author is a Middle East and legal expert at Interdisciplinary Center in
Herzliya.]
Storm Track Infiltration: CyberJihad- The Voice of The Caliphate
http://www.bloggernews.net/13091
Storm Track Infiltration: CyberJihad- The Voice of The Caliphate
This post was written by WC on 16 December, 2006 (12:13) | All News
Terrorists are using the internet for everything from propaganda to planning attacks, wrote Tom Allard.
The setting is familiar to anyone who watches the evening news. A large, executive-style desk, a laptop perched on top, a logo in the background and a screen showing shifting images to reinforce the newsreader’s message. The only difference is the presenter, who is swathed in an Arab headdress and masked to hide his identity, and the subject of the broadcast, a call for an Islamic state for Iraq and a vow to use Iraq as a launching pad to crush the “Zionists” in Israel. Welcome to the “Voice of the Caliphate”, the latest offering from the Global Islamic Media Front, widely regarded as the mouthpiece of al-Qaeda and the worldwide jihadist movement. Distributed over the internet, the mock news format is just one of many employed by al-Qaeda’s highly sophisticated propaganda arm.
The Jihadists are now well versed in using the Internet for their propaganda, planning and recruitment purposes. It must be countered. But how?
Professor Bruce Hoffman, a Georgetown University academic and one of the world’s foremost terrorism analysts, says the use of the internet by jihadists has fundamentally changed the ground rules of terrorism. For the first time, the monopoly of commercial and state-owned media over the mass communication of a terrorist group’s message has been usurped. The implications, Hoffman says, are “enormous”, not least because terrorism, at its core, has ultimately been about generating publicity, communicating a message through a violent - and preferably spectacular - act to achieve a political outcome. “The art of terrorist communication has evolved to a point where the terrorists themselves can now control the entire production process,” he says.
Blogs, chat rooms, and video and audio files - there is little from the online world that jihadists have not employed to spread their message.
In September the Global Islamic Media Front released a video game, The Night of Bush Capturing, which can be downloaded off the web. As songs of praise to jihad play in the background, players work their way through six stages, including “Americans’ Hell” and “Bush Hunted Like a Rat”. The final mission is to slay George Bush, in one-on-one combat.
But propaganda and recruitment isn’t the only use of the Internet by Jihadists.
And it is not just the propaganda war, or using the internet to entice new recruits. The internet has also been a crucial planning tool and conduit for command and control for jihadists planning their attacks. The attacks of September 11, 2001, the Iraqi insurgency, the London bombings and the alleged terrorist plot in Sydney and Melbourne uncovered last year all used the internet to plan and execute operations. There is also the use of the web to raise money, everything from T-shirt sales to advice on how to undertake credit card fraud and the details of bank accounts where funds can be sent. More often than not, terrorists can spread their propaganda, plan their attacks and gather funds without being detected.
And some of the ways they use the technology of the Net are very creative.
Some of the techniques of evasion are disarmingly simple. Rather than send emails, some jihadists simply write and save draft emails, storing them in an account with a password that’s known to other members of the cell. Because they are never actually sent, they can’t be detected by intelligence agencies. Raisman points to a recent publication by the al-Fajr group, another communications arm of al-Qaeda and its fellow travellers. He said it contained a very sophisticated manual on internet security, how to avoid hackers, secure personal files and ensure any computer that is captured is of little value to Western authorities. Then there are offensive cyber operations, the possibility of terrorists bringing down critical electronic systems that underpin key sectors such as energy and banking.
So how are we doing? How well are we dealing with the new threat?
In testimony to the US Congress earlier this year, Hoffman warned the US was “dangerously behind the curve” in dealing with the terrorist presence on the web. The message should resonate in Australia, where the internet has wide penetration and is proving pivotal in inspiring militant Islamists. Indeed, when police and ASIO agents swooped on the homes of 19 alleged terrorists in Sydney and Melbourne last year, they found an astounding array of violent material on their computers. Their electronic library was as voluminous as it was disturbing, including recipes for homemade explosives, poems in praise of jihad and grisly video and audio files of beheadings and terrorist attacks.
Like Sean Connery said in the movie ‘Rising Sun’, as usual “We’re playing that most American of games – catch up.”
US releases anti-insurgency guide
The US military has released a new manual on counter-insurgencies - its first guide on the topic for 20 years.
The manual, which draws on lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan, underlines the need for troops to do more than fight.
Critics have accused the US military of inflaming insurgencies by failing to gain the trust of local people.
The US military says the 282-page manual, which contains chapters on intelligence and ethics in war, fills "a doctrinal gap".
'Handshake or hand grenade'
The US's first post-9/11 counter-insurgency manual tackles intelligence, developing and carrying out strategies and boosting local security.
It's this part - nation-building, counter-insurgency - which is the hard stuff that we haven't trained for
Col Steve Boylan
The manual says it aims to prepare US soldiers and marines "to be greeted with a hand grenade or a handshake, and to respond appropriately to each".
A spokesman for the US Army's institutes of military education said the manual "codifies a lot of what's happening in the field already".
Col Steve Boylan said it reflected the changing nature of war, which goes beyond traditional fighting into reconstruction and nation-building.
US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have faced criticism for being heavy-handed and for sometimes failing to discriminate between insurgents and civilians.
"It's this part - nation-building, counter-insurgency - which is the hard stuff that we haven't trained for," Col Boylan said.
The guide, written with input from humanitarian agencies and media organisations, underlines the importance of integrating civilian and military activities.
"Political, social, and economic programmes are usually more valuable than conventional military operations in addressing the root causes of conflict and undermining an insurgency," it reads.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6186987.stm
Published: 2006/12/17 02:07:57 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Plea to release Iraqi aid workers
The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for the immediate release of about 20 people seized from the Red Crescent offices in Baghdad.
Armed men wearing commando-style uniforms stormed the aid agency's office on Sunday, snatching 30 people.
Reports say that six of those kidnapped, mainly elderly men, have since been released.
The Red Cross called for the others to be freed, saying the Iraqi Red Crescent provided vital help for those in need.
"They do so with devotion and with humanity," ICRC Director of Operations Pierre Krahenbuhl said in Geneva.
"They must be respected and supported, not harmed."
Wave of attacks
The hostage-taking is the latest in a wave of such kidnappings and came as UK Prime Minister Tony Blair made a surprise visit to the Iraqi capital.
Officials described how a large convoy of new vehicles similar to those used by the Iraqi police drew up at the Red Crescent office in Baghdad.
Men in uniforms similar to those of the Interior Ministry's special commando forces got out and entered the building, saying they had been sent to check the premises.
Once inside, they rounded up all the men at gunpoint, including employees and visitors.
Three Iraqi guards from the nearby Netherlands embassy were also seized.
The Interior Ministry has said that none of its units had been on duty in the area at the time.
Infiltrated
The kidnappings are the latest in a long series of similar operations and the second in less than a week.
On Thursday, gunmen in military uniforms kidnapped up to 70 people from a commercial area in the Sanak area of the capital. At least two dozen people were subsequently freed.
Many of the kidnappings have been blamed on Shia militias masquerading as police commando units.
But there is also a suspicion that the police are so infiltrated by the militias that they are indistinguishable from each other, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad.
Criminal gangs seeking ransoms are also involved in kidnapping.
The Iraqi Red Crescent, the country's biggest humanitarian organisation, has previously been the target of the insurgency and random attacks.
On Friday, the organisation accused US troops of attacking its office and vehicles.
The Red Crescent, which has a staff of 1,000 and 200,000 volunteers, is the only Iraqi aid group working across the country's 18 provinces.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6187357.stm
Published: 2006/12/18 02:29:06 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Bosnian Serbs 'lied about past'
US authorities have charged 16 people over concealing their previous service in the Bosnian Serb military when they applied for refugee status in the US.
One of the accused, Nedjo Ikonic, is alleged to have been involved in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
Swoops in six states led to 13 arrests - the other three are still at large.
"These cases demonstrate our resolve to identify and prosecute those who enter the US under false pretences," Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said.
"Especially those who hide their military past."
The defendants failed to disclose their previous service in the Bosnian Serb military on immigration applications, it is alleged.
This enabled them to enter and live in the US after winning refugee status. One became a US citizen.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Secretary Julie Myers said: "ICE will not allow the United States to be a safe haven for those who failed to disclose their service in military forces that were known to commit atrocities."
Special ICE agents carried out arrests over the past week in Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Colorado.
Three of the accused were still being sought, the ICE said.
The defendants face between five and 10 years in prison if found guilty.
Nedjo Ikonic is alleged to have commanded a police unit that took part in the Srebrenica massacre in which nearly 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6185309.stm
Published: 2006/12/16 10:35:09 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Danish police arrest hundreds
Police in Denmark have arrested some 300 demonstrators in the capital, after a protest against the closure of a youth centre turned violent.
About 1,000 protesters in Copenhagen threw cobblestones, bottles and fireworks and erected barricades.
Police used teargas to try to break up the protests, comparing the scene on the streets to that of a "war zone".
The protesters are angry about orders for young squatters to leave a building occupied since 1982.
Local government sold the centre in 2000 and tension has been building since the sale.
"It was extremely violent," police spokesman Flemming Steen Munch said.
"It's been many years since we last had to use tear gas on the streets."
On Thursday, the group had held a peaceful demonstration to try to convince the city council to stop the eviction of the building's occupants.
Left-wing activists have been using the centre as a base for more than two decades.
Danish newspaper Jyllandsposten reported that one demonstrator was unconscious and that two police officers had been taken to hospital.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6187213.stm
Published: 2006/12/17 07:25:52 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Thousands join pro-Kremlin rally
Tens of thousands of members of the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi rallied in the Russian capital, Moscow, to wish World War II veterans a happy new year.
Police and the security service were deployed although the atmosphere was relaxed, with many participants dressed as Dyet Moroz, the Russian Santa Claus.
It follows Saturday's demonstration by opponents of President Vladimir Putin.
They were protesting against what they see as the increasing authoritarianism of the leadership.
Organisers had hoped up to 5,000 people would attend Saturday's opposition rally. Some witnesses said their numbers were dwarfed by the police and security service presence.
The demonstrations come 15 months before the next presidential election.
Although Mr Putin is not eligible to stand, analysts believe his popularity is such that whoever he backs is assured of an easy victory.
The Russian opposition has long been wracked by internal divisions, the BBC regional analyst Stephen Eke says.
But he adds that with parliamentary elections due next year, and presidential elections due early in 2008, they have begun to co-ordinate their efforts.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6187675.stm
Published: 2006/12/17 12:11:45 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Global Crisis Watch
December 18, 2006 | Episode #38
Somalia under attack, Musharraf's exit strategy and the rise of sectarian violence in Southern Thailand
Global Crisis Watch calls to Buffalo, Chennai and Bangkok and discusses events in Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan and Thailand with Niagara University's Dr. Abdiweli Ali, former India intel chief and current Director of the Institute for Topical Studies, B. Raman, and Southeast Asia specialist Dr. Zachary Abuza.
Link: http://www.GlobalCrisisWatch.com/gcw/gcw_061218.mp3
29:30 minutes | 13.7 Megs
Notable Quotes from the Podcast
"Yesterday (Thursday) the TFG captured a member of the ICU who's actually not Somali - he is Oromo from Ethiopia - and he came to Baidoa on a clandestine operation to hit the city... with car bombs. Not only in Baidoa but actually, you know... Today and yesterday the police in Galkacyo captured a lot of explosive materials that the ICU brought to the city to wreak havoc... So what they wanted is to simultaneously Baidoa and also Puntland... War is imminent."
- Dr. Abdiweli Ali
"One thing I want to mention, and this is not much appreciated in the United States, when you fight against the terrorists it's not like a conventional war. It takes time for the results to become evident. Unfortunately, there is impatience in the United States. People want immediate results. Immediate results don't normally come in an unconventional war... So the expectation that there will be quick results in Iraq is unrealistic. It will take time and there is no point in being impatient and exerting pressure to achieve quick results because in terrorism, an unconventional war, with an enemy that you are unable to see it will take time."
- B. Raman on Iraq and the Iraq Study Group report
"Unfortunately, the international community has not reacted with the required firmness and the required promptness against North Korea so it has already conveyed a message to Ahmadenijad, the president of Iran. And he has been thinking that the international community is powerless to act against him... The wrong impression has also come to the hands of North Korea. What has been happening is the international community has been trying to explore ways of dealing through the United Nations. The United Nations is important but we are seeing how difficult it is to operate through the United Nations because of difficulties created by China, because of difficulties created by Russia, etc... The international community of those who agree on the dangers of the threat from Iran and North Korea should be prepared to operate outside of the United Nations."
- B. Raman on North Korea and Iran
"Musharraf is playing a very dangerous game. Both al Qaeda as well as the Taliban are operating in Afghanistan from their bases in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, mainly from North Waziristan and South Waziristan. They've got their sanctuaries, they've got their training camps and they're operating from there. As America noticed this week since November 25 there have been 10 acts of suicide terrorism in Afghan territory, the majority of them carried out by people who went from Pakistan... So he thinks it's in Pakistan's national interests ultimately to bring down the government of Hamid Karzai, to weaken it, so that some elements of Taliban will come to power. In Kabul he's playing a very dangerous game. In Pakistan, itself, the jihadi terrorist elements, the pro-al Qaeda elements, he thinks he needs their support in the elections that are due in Pakistan at the end of next year... So he has toned down the action against them."
- B. Raman on Pakistan and Musharraf
Playlist
A. R. Rahman - Dacoit Duel
A.R. Rahman - Lord An's Empire
Tan Dun - Farewell, Hero
Shigeru Umebayashi - Farewell 1
Global Crisis Watch is an independent and weekly 30-minute current affairs and news podcast focusing on the Global War on Terror, the War of Ideas, and indigenous pro-democracy efforts around the world. Hosted by Richard Lafayette in Minneapolis and co-hosted by Sasha Eckstein of BillRoggio.com and Nick Grace in Washington, DC, the show features interviews with brave activists and journalists about terrorism, democratization, and indigenous efforts to promote freedom and liberty.
Blog with information on searching the records for names and other info that might be of interest.
http://fazosowuyoqu.blogspot.com/index.html
http://hatewatchhallofshame.blogspot.com/2006/12/jdl-kahane.html
The JDL & Kahane
If this is "defending Judaism", it's a very sad day for Jews everywhere. This is, in reality, terrorism, and has been accurately labeled as such by the FBI, the BATF, the US Dept of State, the Canadian government, the European Union and the Israeli government. The JDL, and it's suborganizations of Kahane, Kach and Kahane Chai are banned in Israel. Bombings, shootings, murders, airline hijackings, threatening diplomats, taking over synagogues, beating people with clubs, taking over offices of Jewish philanthropies and demanding ransom, attacking police officers, burglary, invading embassies, assaulting diplomats, kidnapping, extortion, arson, international weapons smuggling, assaulting officials of the Jewish Welfare Association, soliciting murder, are not examples of any peace loving organization, they are examples of terrorism. The following is limited to JDL actions just in the USA, they have also been active in other countries, including Israel.
~ ~ ~
There is a very long list of dates and incidents, not pretty.
granny
http://story.malaysiasun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/b8de8e630faf3631/id/221243/cs/1/
Seek disclosure about WWII spy hero
Big News Network (UPI)
Saturday 16th December, 2006
Britain's first lady is fighting the MI6 spy agency to release top-secret files about a World War II spy who supplied vital Nazi intelligence.
Cherie Booth Blair, a prominent attorney, is demanding MI6 release all its information about secret agent Paul Rosbaud -- code named The Griffin -- so that the public can properly evaluate and appreciate the undoubtedly great contribution (he) made to the Allied victory at considerable personal risk, The Times of London reported Saturday.
The legal body that investigates the conduct of the Intelligence Service has declined to rule on the issue.
Rosbaud was one of the most important British agents of the war, Blair claims. A scientist bitterly opposed to the Nazi regime, he provided Britain with valuable intelligence on jet aircraft, radar, flying bombs and Nazi attempts to develop the atomic bomb.
Posing as a Nazi he supplied the Allies with vital intelligence without the Nazis suspecting him of being a spy.
At the end of the war, Rosbaud was spirited out of Germany in a British military uniform and settled in London. He died in 1963.
http://www.google.com/search?q=WWII+spy+hero+&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=secret+agent+Paul+Rosbaud+--+code+named+The+Griffin+&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.koat.com/news/10557821/detail.html
Ohio Plane Crash Kills 1
POSTED: 10:44 pm MST December 17, 2006
BUCYRUS, Ohio -- Authorities said a single-engine plane crashed on Sunday night in an open field near a residential neighborhood in Bucyrus killing at least one person onboard.
The identity of the victim has not released. Investigators are still trying to determine where the flight originated and how many people were in the plane.
The plane's destination also was unknown.
continued............
http://www.koat.com/news/10557736/detail.html
Chat Room Leads To Two Deaths
POSTED: 9:20 pm MST December 17, 2006
UPDATED: 10:18 pm MST December 17, 2006
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A meeting in a chat room has led to a woman bound and strangled and two deaths in Albuquerque.
Several hours after they started, police still continue to work this strange case.
A case where two people are dead and likely no one will end up behind bars.
Medical examiners haul two bodies away from Blake's Cr. in southwest Albuquerque Sunday evening.
One man was shot to death and the other was a female was bound, and suffered from suffocation.
This is a bizarre case even for law enforcement veteran John Walsh.
"This is one I have not seen before," commented Walsh.
He said officers started on this case around 2 a.m. Sunday.
Walsh said, "A male and a female had gone on a chat line, the internet if you will, and agreed to meet at University and Menaul."
That's where the two agreed to meet on Blake in southwest Albuquerque and where she was going to perform a dance.
At that time, police said the man did not know that the girls boyfriend was in the vehicle as well.
A short time later, police said the man and woman who met online went inside a mobile home on Blake, police said the boyfriend hid in the car.
"About an hour later the boyfriend out in the car became concerned," said Walsh.
Police said he went to the mobile home to confront the other man.
Police said the man from the mobile home pulled a gun and the boyfriend who also had a gun fired in self defense killing the man. They said the boyfriend rushed inside to find his girlfriend dead.
"Strangled to death she was bound partially clothed and she was dead," said Walsh.
Police said the woman was bound with duct tape.
Due to the oddity of this case police are taking their time, they are not saying what type of agreements the two made online, in relation to that dance, why the boyfriend hid in the car or if the woman was sexually assaulted.
Police said early indicators point to the boyfriend acting in self defence. At this time he is not facing any charges.
Copyright 2006 by KOAT.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
I am giving up here, when you start seeing "Kitty Angels".
http://www.koat.com/slideshow/entertainment/10509164/detail.html?qs=;s=49;w=320
I started here, put a smile on my face, Christmas kitties,
maybe #9 or 32, as 32 has practiced on the toilet paper roll all year:
http://www.koat.com/slideshow/entertainment/10509164/detail.html
http://www.koat.com/news/10535860/detail.html
Santa Fe County Jail Prisoner Dies From Infection
POSTED: 1:37 pm MST December 14, 2006
SANTA FE, N.M. -- A Santa Fe County jail prisoner who escaped and was caught a month later has died more than four months after he hanged himself in the jail.
Attorneys for 33-year-old Aaron Michael Torraco said he died Tuesday from an infection at an Albuquerque treatment center where he'd been hospitalized.
Torraco walked out of the jail's front door on June 20. He'd been on his way to help a crew paint the jail's visiting area.
Click here to find out more!
He was nabbed in Albuquerque on July 22.
He hanged himself a day later in an administrative segregation cell, and had been in a vegetative state since then.
One of his attorneys, Tom Clark, said Torraco suffered a massive brain injury and never recovered from internal injuries.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.
Air Madrid's License Suspended Stranding Thousands
Privately-owned, low-cost Spanish carrier Air Madrid had its flying
license
suspended Saturday by Spain's Civil Aviation authority, just hours
following
the troubled carrier's announcement it was ceasing operations.
Some 120,000 people are stranded in Spain and abroad, according to
company
Secretary Pascual Perez Ocana, having flown only one leg of their
return
tickets. Spanish National Radio says that 300,000 people have flights
booked
with the two-year old airline.
Air Madrid has been unable to resolve problems causing repeated flight
delays according to the Spanish government. Additionally, the agency
overseeing aviation in the country says the airline has a number of
unresolved security issues. The airline's continuing problems have
devastated both the carrier's ticket sales and its credibility.
According to a Civil Aviation statement, "This decision has been taken
with
total independence of the absolutely irresponsible and unilateral
behavior
of the company."
The company's announced it was ceasing all flights on Friday, blaming
its
decision on the government. It didn't address whether it was going out
of
business or when it might resume flying.
In a statement Air Madrid said it was giving a list of ticket-holders
to the
Civil Aviation authority for it to "adopt whatever measures it might
deem
appropriate to compensate them for the damage its conduct has caused."
Air Madrid also said that ticket sales had fallen dramatically since a
development ministry statement last Tuesday threatened the suspension
following serious flight delays.
On Friday, Spain's Development Ministry said the government was
chartering
between four and six jumbo-sized planes to repatriate the neediest
stranded
passengers.
The government also said it would take legal action against the airline
and
claim back from Air Madrid $6.6 million in funding for the emergency
flights.
Air Madrid was founded in 2004 and has 1,270 employees. In addition to
Latin America, it had routes to London, Paris, Rome, Tel Aviv and the
Balearic
Islands in the Mediterranean.
FMI: www.airmadrid.com
aero-news.net
[unknown url, from newsletter]
Pilot in Okla. Crash Charged in 3 Deaths
JAY, Okla.(AP) -- A pilot who survived the crash of a small plane that
killed three passengers was arrested Sunday and charged with
manslaughter,
authorities said.
Brent Caldwell, 30, did not have a valid pilot's license and was under
the
influence of alcohol at the time of the Saturday evening crash, said
Trooper
Kera Philippi, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokeswoman. The level of
alcohol
in his blood was not immediately available.
The fixed-wing, single-engine Bellanca registered to Caldwell crashed
into
Grand Lake, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Witnesses said
they
saw the plane flying very low but heard no engine noise before it
struck the
water.
The pilot told police the plane lost power before it hit the water. The
plane was found in 10 to 12 feet of water, Philippi said.
The pilot stated he was flying to Tulsa, but his aircraft was traveling
eastbound away from Tulsa when it went down, Philippi said. Jay is
about 80
miles northeast of Tulsa.
Killed were Mariano Carlos, 15, and Eduardo Ortiz Robles, 20, and
Campos
Gonzalez, 33, the patrol said. They were pinned under water and were
pronounced dead at the scene.
Caldwell hospitalized with head and internal injuries, authorities
said. He
was being held Sunday in jail. Authorities said no bond was set for him
and
that he is scheduled to appear before a judge Monday. Jail records did
not
indicate whether he had an attorney.
Iran bloggers test regime's tolerance
Iran bloggers test regime's tolerance
Push boundaries of political dissent
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/12/18/iran_bloggers_test_regimes_tolerance?mode=PF
By James F. Smith and Anne Barnard, Globe Staff | December 18, 2006
TEHRAN -- By day, Alireza Samiei covers banking and insurance for an
industry
newspaper. By night, he writes a daring online blog about Iran's social
and
political ills.
In a recent blog entry, he described a scene he saw while talking to a
greengrocer about soaring prices: A young child was pleading, " 'Mommy,
I want
watermelon.' The woman, shy and sorrowful, singled out one broken,
small
watermelon from the spoiled fruit bin and told the grocer, 'Just this
one,
please.' She put 20 cents on the counter and hurried away."
Samiei, 27, is among the growing ranks of Iranian bloggers who are
relentlessly pushing the boundaries of free expression, making Farsi
one of
the 10 most popular languages for blogs. The bloggers are testing just
how
much political and social dissent the nation's rulers will tolerate on
the
Internet.
The authorities are pushing back. They have blocked access to thousands
of
websites in recent years that are deemed to threaten Iran's Islamic
revolution, including the BBC's Farsi-language site. A trial began this
month
against four bloggers on charges including propaganda against the
state. And
in October, the government barred high-speed Internet service in
private
homes.
Especially threatening, it appears, are sites that create online
communities
that might allow Iranians to assemble virtually. The government banned
the
hugely popular Orkut site, an online Iranian social club. The latest
casualty
this month: YouTube.com, the American site for sharing videos online.
Click on
it in Iran and the screen reports, "Access denied."
The Paris-based rights group Reporters Without Borders includes Iran on
its
list of 13 countries designated "enemies of the Internet." That
organization's
website is also blocked in Iran.
The organization said repression of bloggers has eased somewhat in
2006. But
in a report in November, the group said Internet filtering has
accelerated,
with two political sites, tik.ir and meydaan.com, closed down in recent
weeks.
Both had criticized the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
continued.........
Today in History:
December 18, 1958 - Niger
Republic Day
No information provided.
December 18, 1914 - Egypt
British Protectorate Declared
Britain declared a formal protectorate over Egypt that lasted until February 28, 1922, when Britain unilaterally declared Egypt independent in deference to growing nationalist sentiment.
Upcoming Significant Events:
December 19, (year unknown) - Philippines
Armed Forces Day
No information provided.
December 19, 1944 - Vietnam
Army Day
Celebrates the founding of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA).
December 20, 1989 - Panama
U.S. Intervenes in Panama
U.S. military forces intervened in Panama to protect the 35,000 Americans residing there and to install a democratically-elected government. Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces on January 3, 1990 after having taken refuge in the papal nunciature.
December 20, 2003 - Nepal
Maoist attack kills three soldiers
Maoists using automatic machine guns and motorcycles attack an army vehicle that was transporting cash of the state-owned Rastryiya Banijya Bank. Three soldiers were killed and one wounded in the attack.
December 21, 1640 - Portugal
Independence Day
No information provided.
December 21, 1948 - Ireland
Proclamation of the Republic
No information provided.
December 21, 1948 - Nepal
Independence Day
No information provided.
December 21, 1973 - Israel
Geneva Peace Conference Opens
No information provided.
December 21, 1975 - Austria
Attack on OPEC Conference
Pro-Palestinian guerrillas attacked an OPEC conference in Vienna, killing three people, wounding seven, and taking eighty-one hostage. Forty-one Austrian hostages were released in Vienna, while the rest were taken to Algeria and released on December 23, 1975.
December 21, 1988 - United Kingdom, United States
Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103, outbound from London for New York with 259 people aboard, was destroyed by a bomb on December 21, 1988 while over Lockerbie, Scotland. All aboard the aircraft were killed as were eleven persons on the ground at Lockerbie.
December 21, 1991 - Commonwealth of Independent States
Founding of CIS
Eleven of the twelve former republics of the Soviet Union met in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan on December 21, 1991 and founded the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), thereby abolishing the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Founding members were Armenia, Azerbaijan, Byelarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
December 22, 1920 - Burma
National Day
National Day of the Union of Burma commemorates a boycott launched against the Rangoon University Act of the British, which allowed only the rich and a handful of anglophiles to receive higher education. Considered to be the beginning of the National Education Movement.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/17/utaliban117.xml
Taliban's 'ideological mentor' warns Musharaff
By Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 2:36am GMT 18/12/2006
# In pictures: Preparing to ambush the Taliban
# Afghan army takes fight to Taliban's heartland
The cleric accused of being the “ideological mentor” of the Taliban has issued a blunt warning to Pakistan’s president that he risks further radicalising his country if he alienates its religious leaders.
Fazlur Rehman
Fazlur Rehman
Fazlur Rehman, the maulana, or senior Muslim cleric who leads Pakistan’s powerful alliance of Islamic parties, used a rare interview with The Daily Telegraph to respond to a recent plea issued by General Pervez Musharraf for Pakistanis not to vote for “hypocrites” and “extremists”.
“With his poisonous propaganda against the religious parties, General Musharaff is trying to widen the gap between the religious circles and the liberals in the country,” said the influential cleric.
The military ruler’s call to Pakistanis to support moderates followed demands from the West to bring more secular parties into a broad-based political agreement in elections loosely scheduled for the end of next year.
But the maulana reminded the general that he holds the key to Pakistan’s controversial policy of bringing peace to the Afghan-Pakistan border where American and Nato troops are battling an increasingly virulent insurgency.
Gen Musharraf recently extricated Pakistan’s army from an unpopular and costly military campaign by brokering a peace agreement with pro-Taliban militants in North Waziristan.
“We have been helping create agreements throughout the tribal areas and what do we get in return? Musharraf calls us dangerous,” said Maulana Rehman.
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