Posted on 12/17/2006 4:03:30 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_5216352
Man charged with food tampering
By Rod Leveque Staff Writer
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
A food worker has been arrested on charges he sprinkled glass and other debris into Chinese vegetable dumplings at a processing plant in Industry.
Albert Vidal Torres of Ontario pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges of tampering with consumer products, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.
Prosecutors say Torres, 33, contaminated the wontons in 2003 during the manufacturing process at Golden Crown Foods in Industry. The company has since moved to Ontario.
The dumplings were shipped to markets across the state.
Golden Crown Foods discovered the contamination after customers complained about finding odd things in their wontons.
In addition to glass, prosecutors believe Torres also contaminated the dumplings with seeds, pebbles and spit.
Nobody was hurt, although the company was forced to recall and destroy nearly $23,000 worth of dumplings, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.
Torres allegedly told his employer he did it to retaliate against the company after it fired his brother-in-law, prosecutors said.
The company has since retooled its manufacturing processes to make its products less vulnerable to attack.
Torres is named in a five-count indictment that also charges him with using a fraudulent green card and possessing a fake Social Security number.
Authorities arrested him Wednesday.
r_leveque@dailybulletin.com
(909) 483-9325.
Of Course, I intended to wish all of you a Happy Valentines Day, this story, helped me to put a smile on my face, maybe it will for you too..........granny
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PUPPY_LOVE?SITE=CAWES&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Mom Cat Adopts Rejected Rottweiler Pup
By STEPHEN SINGER
Associated Press Writer
AP Photo
AP Photo/Bob Child
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MERIDEN, Conn. (AP) -- Who says cats and dogs don't get along? Workers at the Meriden Humane Society are marveling at a short-haired mother cat who has willingly adopted a six-day-old Rottweiler puppy that was rejected by its mother.
The tiny pup, named Charlie by Humane Society volunteers, nurses alongside a jumble of black and gray kittens recently born to Satin, who was surrendered to the shelter by an owner unable to care for her.
Charlie's mother was found by the side of the road in Meriden a couple of months ago. She gave birth to two puppies, but one was stillborn. As sometimes happens with a stillborn in the litter, the mother dog refused to accept Charlie.
Volunteers bottle-fed him every two hours, but the effort was both exhausting to humans and insufficient for the puppy, who needs to feed when he wants, said volunteer Chris Chorney.
Research indicated that a suitable substitute could be Satin, who had given birth to four kittens that have quickly warmed to Charlie.
"The kittens scrum up with him and the kittens treat him like one of their own," Chorney said. "There's a certain social benefit of small animals being with each other."
Story continues...................
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/man/2007/02/15/news/bombs.found.outside.army.camp.in.metro.html
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Bombs found outside Army camp in metro
Military bomb experts recovered a cache of explosives outside the Philippine Army (PA) headquarters in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City but authorities quickly downplayed suspicions that the recovery was related to an impending terrorist attack.
The explosives - two high explosive hand fragmentation grenades, a hand offensive grenade and a percussion cap - were recovered by explosives and ordnance experts of the Army on the eve of the second anniversary of the Valentine's Day bombings perpetrated by terrorist groups Abu Sayyaf and the radical Rajah Solaiman Movement.
Eight persons died and scores of others were injured in the 2005 Valentine's Day bombings in Makati, Davao and General Santos cities. The attacks were reportedly financed by the Southeast Asian regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah.
Army spokesman Ernesto Torres said the explosives were recovered following information provided by Joel Reyes, 21 who found the items along Bayani road at around 11:05 a.m. Tuesday.
Torres said the area where the explosives were recovered was just outside a gate of the Army headquarters and about 15 meters away from the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Torres said an investigation of the incident is still ongoing to ascertain the identities of the people who left the bombs behind.
After seeing the explosives, Reyes called the Army's Explosives Ordnance Disposal Battalion, which immediately dispatched a team to recover the bombs.
Torres said the incident was not likely the handiwork of terrorists. "This is not a trademark our terrorists. It was not meant to hurt. It was not prepared as an improvised explosive device," said Torres, noting that the grenades were still in their casings when recovered by the experts.
He theorized that the explosives were left behind by people who have access to the equipment of soldiers. He said they are finding out to whom the explosives were issued through the lot or serial number of the grenades. (VR/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Dumaguete.
(February 15, 2007 issue)
[Just as the jihad magazine ordered]
http://www.dawn.com/2007/02/15/top17.htm
Explosion damages gas pipeline in Sui
By Saleem Shahid
QUETTA, Feb 14: A gas pipeline was blown up in Sui on Wednesday, disrupting supply to the main purification plant. According to Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) sources, an explosive device was denoted under the pipeline supply gas to the plant from well No.21 of the Sui field.
“About 2.5ft-long portion of the pipeline was blown up in the blast that rocked the Sui township,” police sources said, adding that supply to the damaged pipeline had been stopped.
The PPL sources said the pipeline would be repaired soon.
Meanwhile, gas supply to Quetta from the main pipeline, which had been affected by a blast on Sunday, has been restored. The Sui Southern Gas Company had managed supply to the main city and cantonment area through the pipeline supplying gas to Ziarat and Pishin, the sources said.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/02/15/int3.htm
February 15, 2007 Thursday Muharram 26, 1428
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India, China, Russia call for fair world order
NEW DELHI, Feb 14: The foreign ministers of India, China and Russia called on Wednesday for a more balanced world order, while insisting their day-long meeting was not ganging up on any superpower, such as the United States.India's Pranab Mukherjee, Russia's Sergei Lavrov and China's Li Zhaoxing discussed economic ties at a time when the Asian giants are seeking more energy supplies and Moscow sits on huge oil and gas reserves.
“They expressed their conviction that democratisation of international relations is the key to building an increasingly multi-polar world order,” the summit's joint communique said.
But the communique emphasised that “trilateral cooperation was not directed against the interests of any other country”.
Few concrete economic deals came from a meeting aimed at smoothing the path for future trade agreements.
“The economies of all three countries are growing fast,” Li told a news conference at the end of the meeting.
“I believe there is great complementarity and potential for tripartite cooperation ... We discussed how to widen and deepen cooperation in fields like energy, transport, economy and trade.”
Analysts said economic necessities would likely override pending security concerns between India and China, at least at this meeting. China's close relationship with Pakistan and its military power have long worried New Delhi.
The Indian foreign ministry said on Tuesday a “hotline” had been set up between the two countries to speed up diplomatic communications.
The meeting came after Russian President Vladimir Putin's high profile visit to India last month, when Russia signed deals to help India construct nuclear power stations.
India is also buying more Russian weapons, such as combat jets. China and India account for most of Russia's annual arms sales of around $6 billion.
The United States has also been cementing closer ties with India, reaching a controversial deal to allow India to buy US
nuclear reactors and fuel for the first time in 30 years.
Mr Putin recently made headlines by accusing the United States of fuelling a new arms race. He says US domination in the post-Cold War world order needs to take account of new centres of powers like China, India and Russia.
“The whole world recognises that problems and conflicts must be solved by common efforts,” Lavrov said, adding that the three foreign ministers discussed the Iran nuclear standoff, Iraq and West Asia.
Experts said the three countries, each with their own bilateral relations with Washington, were not seeking any strategic, anti-US partnership.
“Of all the three, Russia may have some concept of ganging up on the United States. But this meeting is really not about any strategic partnership between the three,” said C. Raja Mohan, strategic affairs editor of the Indian Express newspaper.“India wants a close relationship with Washington.”—Reuters
http://www.dawn.com/2007/02/15/top18.htm
Security tightened in capital
By Munawer Azeem
ISLAMABAD, Feb 14: Thousands of security forces were deployed in the federal capital on Wednesday raising fears that terrorists and suicide bombers were on the prowl.
Senior Superintendent of Police Sikandar Hayat, however, tried to cool the nerves of the citizens and told Dawn: “We have no information that suicide bombers might strike in Islamabad”.
Police and paramilitary forces were seen patrolling the city and manning barriers set up at points of entry into Islamabad and its sensitive sections.
Their vigorous checking of suspicious-looking vehicles and men at these barriers, gave credence to whispered intelligence reports that operatives of a banned militant organisation were trying to sneak into the city to launch terror attacks.
Local administration had put state-run hospitals on high alert overnight in preparation of possible terror attacks.
SSP Hayat however shrugged off the idea that Rangers, the Elite Force, Frontier Constabulary and Punjab and local police had been deployed to bolster security.
“Since they were here, we thought it better they stand on duty, rather than stand-by,” he said.
Some 3,500 policemen and paramilitary forces had been brought to Islamabad from Punjab last week for possible showdown with the religious militants at Lal Masjid. But the confrontation over the issue of “illegal mosques” ended in a climbdown by the government.
SSP Sikandar Hayat’s cool explanation, however, could not cool the nerves of the citizens who saw the security forces positioned at roads, important government buildings, shopping centres, multinational companies and fast food outlets — KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald.
Some sources said Rangers were in the city not for security reasons but were “working in a different direction”.
SSP Hayat said the personnel called to reinforce Islamabad police just stand at different places to help local police on their request. “They do not and could not intervene in citizens’ affairs,” he added.
Asked about the incidents of Punjab police’s misbehaviour with the citizens of Islamabad, the SSP answered with the question “how could they misbehave with the citizens they are not authorised to stop and check any citizen anywhere in the capital?”.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/02/15/top12.htm
TNFJ leader shot dead in D.I. Khan
By Our Correspondent
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Feb 14: A local leader of Tehrik Nifaz Fiqa-i-Jafria (TNFJ) was shot dead here on Wednesday. A police official said two motorcyclists opened fire on Jawad Hussain Jawad in Muhalla Chaman Chowk, killing him on the spot, and escaped.
Protesters blocked roads and streets in various parts of the city and burnt tyres after the incident and shops and markets were closed. Police baton-charged the protesters.
Maqbool Hussain, brother of the deceased, registered an FIR at the City Police Station, stating that he had been receiving threats for a couple of days.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/02/15/top6.htm
Airport suicide bomber identified
By Mohammad Asghar
RAWALPINDI, Feb 14: An armed man, who was killed during a shootout with security personnel at the Islamabad airport on February 6, is suspected to have links with a banned militant outfit, security sources told Dawn late Wednesday evening.
The sources claimed that evidences suggest that the attacker, Mohammad Younas, belonging to the Leghari tribe of Dera Ghazi Khan, had links with the `Amjad Farooqi group' of the banned sectarian outfit.
The evidences also suggest that the man was not on a suicide mission but on a target killing mission, although his target did not seem to be a high-profile personality," the sources said.
The attacker was carrying four hand-grenades and two pistols. Apparently, the grenades were to be used by him for an easy escape. But one of the grenades he was carrying exploded during an exchange of fire with security personnel.
The sources said the attacker was identified by the CID Lahore during an interrogation of another accused.
"It was a surprise for his (Younas's) parents as they were not expecting such an act from their son," a security source said.
A post-mortem has already been carried out and blood samples have been taken to establish the identity of the attacker. The body was kept at the mortuary of the District Headquarters Hospital, Rawalpindi.
A DNA test led to the identification of Mohammad Younas.
The sources said that the relatives of Younas had left for Rawalpindi to claim the body.
The government had announced a reward money of Rs1 million for the identification of the attacker.
Tariq Saeed Birmani adds from Dera Ghazi Khan: The mother of Mohammad Younas on Wednesday recognised her son through sketches carried in newspapers for his identification.
After the identification of suicide bomber’s body by his parents, a councillor of the area informed the authorities concerned in Islamabad, sources said.
When contacted the councillor, Akbar Khan Malkani, said Mohammed Younas was son of Ghulam Qadir Pheroani Leghari, a resident of the Rasheedabad Union Council 4. He said Younas’s parents had asked him to inform the authorities concerned and help them get the remains their son.
He was a religious-minded youth, the councillor added.
The mother said that before leaving the house three months ago her son had divorced his wife. He was father of a two-year-old baby.
The mother demanded that his son’s body should be handed over to her for burial.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/02/15/top2.htm
Three ‘missing’ men in govt custody
By Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, Feb 14: The federal government said in the Supreme Court on Wednesday that three out of six recently traced persons from a list of 41 people "missing" for many years are under its custody for security reasons.
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad took up the matter on the application of Mrs Amina Masood Janjua regarding missing persons, including her husband, whose unexplained incarceration for the last one and a half years is believed to have been caused by his suspected links with Al Qaeda or jihadi outfits.
Attorney-General Makhdoom Ali Khan informed the bench that computer expert Mohammad Mansoor and businessman Malik Zulfikar had been detained under the Security of Pakistan Act, 1952. They were picked up by intelligence agencies in March 2005 and June 2006, respectively.
Likewise, Alim Tariq is with the Punjab police under the Anti-Terrorism Act. However, Mittha Khan Marri, Jan Mohammad and Mohammad Saleem Baluch had been released, the attorney-general said.
At the last hearing, the apex court was informed that the attorney-general would present a comprehensive report on efforts made by the government in locating the rest of 16 missing persons out of a total of 41.
Mr Khan also informed the bench that the list of disappeared in fact contained the names of 43 persons and not 41. He said that every possible effort was being made to locate the whereabouts of the rest. "I personally have talked to different intelligence agencies to locate the whereabouts of the missing persons."About three affidavits filed by the recently released persons claiming to see other missing colleagues in the custody of intelligence agencies, the attorney-general clarified that certain information given in the affidavits were incorrect.
The hearing, however, was to adjourn abruptly for Thursday when the court was informed that Justice M. Javed Buttar, who was sitting in another bench, had suffered a heart attack and was rushed to a local hospital.
On the intervention of a human rights lawyer, C.M. Farooq, who was recently picked up by an intelligence agency and released after two weeks, the bench directed the attorney-general to listen to him if he had some important information.
In his affidavit, Mr Farooq claimed that during the detention he had seen Masood Janjua, Faisal Faraz, Attiqur Rehman, Mohammad Altaf, Hafiz Abdul Basit, Obaidullah, Hafiz Idrees Abbasi, Gul Mohammad and many others at detention cells of the intelligence agencies.
After the hearing, family members of the disappeared persons surrounded the attorney-general and pleaded for his help in identifying their near and dear ones.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/02/15/local3.htm
KARACHI: Raped girl in severe trauma: CHK officials
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 14: Naseema Labano, a teenage girl of Ubaro town of District Ghotki, who was gang raped, was flown to Karachi late Tuesday night and admitted to Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) on Wednesday, officials told Dawn. She was brought Karachi on the instructions of Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ibad.
According to a senior CHK official, she was brought to the hospital at about 11:30 am and admitted to Gynaecology Ward No.3. “Professor Nusrat Khan, in-charge Gynaecology Ward and Dr Nusrat Shah did a check-up and collected details,” Dr Kaleem Butt, Medical Superintendent of the CHK told Dawn. He said the girl refused to allow the experts exhaustive examinations and did not allow a lady specialist to conduct an ultrasound test.
“She is hardly fourteen years and in immense distress and trauma,” said Dr Butt said and added that a team of psychiatrists would examine the girl on Thursday to bring her out of the traumatic condition that she was undergoing. “The doctors have also decided to conduct more investigations,” he said.
Dr Butt said “we have arranged for her mother, father and maternal uncle to live with her in the hospital as it is psychologically necessary for her revival,” he said.
The hospital administration did not allow the media, particularly TV channels to see the girl saying it would prolong the girl’s traumatic condition of the girl. “We’ll allow the media to meet her soon once she stabilises,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Sindh Fazlur Rehman has ordered the Inspector General Sindh Police to submit a report in three days, about the gang-rape of Kainat Soomro, a thirteen-year-old girl of district Dadu said an official handout on Wednesday.
http://jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2371908
A POTEMKIN DEMOCRACY, A POTEMKIN FREE MARKET, AND A POTEMKIN ARMS RACE
By Pavel Felgenhauer
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov
Using language rarely heard since the Cold War, last week Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted the United States, European Union, NATO, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the West in general during a major policy speech at a security conference in Munich on February 10. After Putin’s outburst, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who were both in Munich, tried to downplay the confrontational nature of Putin's speech, asserting that this is not yet a "Cold War." But members of a U.S. Congressional delegation at the Munich conference deemed Putin's address to be aggressive and provocative, while articles appeared in Moscow asserting that a "new Cold War" has indeed started (Nezavisimaya gazeta, Vedomosti, February 12).
It is not easy to explain the rationale behind Putin's anti-Western broadside in Munich. If he had only attacked Washington's current policies, his view might gain some understanding from European and U.S. politicians who are themselves at odds with the Bush administration. But Putin attacked indiscriminately, causing collateral damage in all quarters, blasting the EU on Kosovo and NATO on expansion, the OSCE for its election monitoring and NGOs for promoting democracy. A pro-Kremlin web site (strana.ru, February 12) lamented that Putin's address was rejected by virtually everyone -- from U.S. Republicans to German Greens. It was reported that there were even hecklers in the audience shouting, "You'll answer for the murdered journalists!" during Putin's speech (Rossiiskaya gazeta, February 12).
It was ill-advised of Putin to try to press on Western politicians the idea that any NGO that receives grants from any state budget becomes by implication a political tool of that state's government, dismissing them as "so-called NGOs that are formally independent, but are financed and in fact controlled" (kremlin.ru, February 10). In Russia, the Kremlin indeed fully controls the so-called NGOs it finances, but Western politicians know from experience that in their world this linkage is not always true.
A genuine new Cold War does not seem possible despite Putin's rhetoric. First, he is short on resources. Today’s Russia is two times smaller than the old USSR in terms of population and industrial potential. The problem is not only material, but also ideological. The Soviet rulers believed their system of governance was superior. When the belief failed, the system collapsed.
Putin and his Kremlin cohorts do not have any separate ideology and are building in Russia something they believe is a modern Western state. In Munich Putin, who sees himself as a pro-Western reformer, a reborn Peter the Great, not so much challenged the West, as expressed his anguish at not only not being accepted, but instead being perceived by Western public opinion as an Asian dictator who is building a Potemkin democracy with a Potemkin market economy.
Three days before Putin’s bellicose speech, Ivanov unveiled a 5 trillion rubles ($189 billion) military rearmament program. According to Ivanov, 45% of Russia's weapons will be replaced with new ones by 2015. The acquisitions will include a completely revamped early-warning radar network, new intercontinental missiles, a fleet of supersonic Tu-160 strategic bombers, and 31 new warships, including a new class of Borey strategic nuclear submarines, and aircraft carriers (www.mil.ru, February 7). Ivanov's spending plan sounds like a replay of the Cold War arms race.
Ivanov boasted that 17 new ICBMs would be procured in 2007. But last month the chief of the Strategic Rocket Force, General Nikolai Solovtsov, spelled out that indeed only five truly new SS-27s (Topol-M) ICBMs will be acquired, while the other 12 are older Soviet-type naval submarine liquid-fuel ballistic missiles SS-N-23 (Sineva) that will be placed on the Soviet-built Delta-4 nuclear submarine Tula to replace the same type of missiles that have been scrapped because of old age. The SS-N-23 in fact has a range less than intercontinental (strana.ru, January 5),
Solovtsev told journalists that there are today 542 operational ground-based ICBMs in Russia, but 70% of them are too old and overdue to be scrapped. By 2015 some 62 new SS-27 ICBMs will be procured, but at the same time some 400 old ICBMs will be removed. Today Russia has 78 strategic Tu-160 and Tu-95 bombers, while by 2015 Ivanov hopes to have 50 operational. The first new sub of the new Borey class (Yuri Dolgoruky) is indeed close to completion, but its new Bulava missiles have regularly failed during tests (see EDM, September 11, 2006), making the new sub a worthless asset.
During the Cold War, the USSR built five aircraft carriers in the Nikolayev shipyard in Ukraine. None of the carriers were ever truly operational: Three have been scrapped, one is being remodeled for India, and the last, the Admiral Kuznetsov, is a crippled vessel that spends most of its time being repaired. There are today no concrete plans to resume aircraft production.
Ivanov expressed doubt that the Russian defense industry will be able to produce the modern weapons Russia military needs. Substantial funds have been earmarked for rearmament in Russia and more is planned to come, but the money will be spent in total secrecy that heightens the opportunities for misappropriation. Ivanov refused to say how many tanks Russia has today, how many new ones will build, who much they will cost, what is the price of any item that is planned to be procured (fednews.ru, February 7).
In essence, Ivanov's rearmament plan only pretends to be a replica of a Cold War build up, while in fact it is a modest attempt to keep even a fraction of Russia’s present Soviet-made strategic defense holdings operational until 2015. Whether Putin’s salvo is also a charade remains unknown.
http://www.coha.org/2007/02/14/russia-returns-to-latin-america/
Wednesday, February 14th, 2007
Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, Reports, Front Page
Russia Returns to Latin America
With Washington obsessively focused on the Middle East and China and Iran’s stepping-up involvement in trade, weapons procurement and geopolitical matters, Latin American’s importance is currently growing. But when it comes to evaluating Latin America’s economic and security considerations, Russia has been all but left out of the discussion during most of its Putin era.
In the past several years, however, and in a burst of new-found visibility, Moscow has been gradually restoring itself as a major regional presence throughout the western hemisphere. It is now on the verge of fully reviving its stake in the region’s political and commercial agendas, buying and selling a number of commodities and services ranging from frozen fish to military ordnance. The January visit of the Chairman of the Russian Audit Chamber and President Vladimir Putin’s personal representative, Sergey Stepashin, to Nicaragua for the inauguration of President Daniel Ortega, is but the latest in a number of possibly important developments that have seen Russia returning to this hemisphere with a masterly enthusiasm.
Russia and Latin America in the Post-Cold War World
The years of domestic crisis that followed the soviet bloc’s dissolution and its subsequent isolation after the end of the Cold War era left several of its allies in the region stranded: most drastically, Cuba. For Latin America, the 1990s have been characterized as the “lost decade,” due to the turmoil and tensions that consumed the region’s attention as a result of Russia’s turn inward. But Russia’s deference emphatically ended a few days ago when former KGB-agent President Vladimir Putin’s delivered a ‘tough’ speech to this year’s meeting of the Munich Conference on Security Policy. At that gathering he jeered at Washington for overreaching itself and acting as if it presided over a unipolar world. Putin went on to menacingly warn that the United States, “has overstepped its national borders in every way. This is visible in the economic, political, cultural and educational policies it imposes on other nations.”
Russia, for its part, has begun a surge of political and commercial proposals, which have included a large number of diplomatic trips being undertaken by Russian envoys to Latin America. These are emblematic of the Kremlin’s reenergized foreign policy offensive directed towards the Americas. At least three factors have been contributing to this process. With the exception of Chechnya, Putin has managed to put the Federation back in order domestically, with an invigorated economy that is now aggressively utilizing its gas and oil reserves to rebuild the state’s wealth. This campaign has subsequently allowed Moscow to focus on pursuing an aggressive foreign policy in what traditionally is viewed as Washington’s backyard.
Washington’s focus on its “War on Terror” has left an opening for nations like China, Iran and Russia to become more involved in the region, either (depending on one’s perspective) as part of the problem or solution. Russia’s reemergence is occurring at a time when much of Latin America is striving towards a more Washington-free environment by promoting indigenous economic integration and looking in directions other than at the U.S. for its trade and political partners (e.g., China, Iran, Canada, Spain). The recent elections of several anti-American, left-leaning leaders, and the desire of others to ally themselves with extra-hemispheric powers, (like the recently formed IBSA, consisting of South Africa, Brazil and India), also has contributed to opening up the environment for Russia’s growing influence.
On The Political/Diplomatic Front
Russia has demonstrated its interest in reviving former Soviet-era ties with Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as establishing new ones. In addition to Stepashin’s recent trip to Nicaragua, there have been other high-profile Russian protocolic visits to the continent. Last November, a delegation from the lower house of the Russian parliament, led by deputy house speaker Sergei Baburin, visited Mexico City. Joint statements by Mexican and Russian officials expressed a similarity of opinion on topics including the benefits deriving from a multi-polar world. Mexico City additionally demonstrated its determination to have good relations with Moscow by declaring its support for Russia’s admission to the World Trade Organization. Coinciding with the Russian delegation’s visit to Mexico, the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS published an interview with the Paraguayan foreign minister, Ruben Ramirez Lezcano, in which he stated that “Russia, owing to its geographic position, is for us a key link for establishing contacts with other states of the European and Asian regions.'’ Lezcano stressed that Paraguay looks forward to soon seeing the opening of a Russian Federation embassy in Asuncion in the near future.
On December 15, ITAR-TASS reported that the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, signed a memorandum with ministers of MERCOSUR’s member states to facilitate political dialogue and economic ties. According to the news agency, the document reads: “Political dialogue will include, in particular, the analysis of problems connected with protection of democracy and human rights, peace and international stability, as well as prevention of conflicts and the strengthening of international security.” The signatories have also agreed to hold ministerial meetings on a biannual basis. Lavrov’s South American tour included a two-day visit to Brazil, where he met with the country’s Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and Foreign Minister Celso Amorim. Reflecting upon his visit, the Brazilian foreign minister observed that:
The two countries’ cooperation on the international arena is demonstrating the strength of principles and values which our countries share in their attitude to key matters. They include the protection of democratic principles, peace and international stability, disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, efforts to improve international security, cooperation in the struggle against terrorism and the drug trade, and the strengthening of a multi-polar world.
Upon his return to the Kremlin, Lavrov was quoted as saying. “Brazil is interested in our joining in major projects of interregional importance, including a transcontinental gas pipeline, and modernization of railways in the continent.” He was referring to the proposed Venezuelan-led project to build a 10,000-kilometer pipeline through the Amazon that would stretch from Venezuela through Brazil to Argentina, with links to Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Russo-Brazilian political relations are also on the rise as referred in Moscow’s support of Brazil obtaining a permanent seat on the United Nation’s Security Council.
Also of importance, was the recent January visit to Cuba by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. Reflecting upon Fradkov’s visit, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislyak explained: “A period of adapting to new realities was not easy, but now we are moving towards a new level of cooperation and mutual interaction with our Cuban friends… Cuba has been and will remain our high-priority partner in Latin America.” He went on to add that Russia would continue to advocate “the abolition of the U.S. economic embargo and other sanctions against Cuba.” Regarding the Caribbean, ITAR-TASS’ Mikhail Makeyev noted that the number of Russian tourists visiting the Dominican Republic having greatly risen, and negotiations were underway regarding the opening of a Russian consulate general on the island.
Russia and the Pink Tide
An interesting development will be how Russia reacts to the Pink Tide cohort of left-leaning countries of the region. The delegations Moscow sent to Nicaragua and Cuba suggest that Moscow is not bringing any discordant ideological baggage to the table and will not try to force its attention on the movement, particularly with Caracas at this point. International attention began to keenly focus on this relationship in 2006 when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visited several Russian cities and met with Vladimir Putin. This occurred after Venezuela had initiated the purchase of 100,000 Russian-made Kalishnikov assault rifles, helicopters and other weaponry, much to Washington’s chagrin. A July 25 dialogue was conducted on the Russian Mayak radio station between Vladimir Averin and Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Strategies and Technologies Analysis Center, which presented an in-depth analysis of the significance of this visit. In the interview, Pukhov explained that:
Arms supplies will provide a link that may be followed by cooperation in the field of oil and gas. Similar projects are now being discussed in Algeria. […] Chavez is an extravagant person, but that has never deterred us [Russians]. We are not afraid of extravagant leaders. We are quite extravagant ourselves.
However, not everyone views arms supplies as providing a stable and durable link between Russian and its military clients. A January 23 article by Scott Sullivan of the The Conservative Voice argued that apart from the Kalishnikov deal, there have been no mega-contracts between Russia or China with either Venezuela or Bolivia. According to Sullivan’s pure speculations, “Russia and China are not avoiding Chavez and [Bolivian President Evo] Morales because they seek good will from the US [… They are avoiding] Chavez and Morales because these two leaders are part of South America’s political lunatic fringe who are going down in 2007.”
Ironically, Sullivan published this somewhat questionable analysis on the same day that the Associated Press reported that Moscow and Caracas had signed an agreement worth $15 million to cooperate in developing Venezuela’s natural gas resources. Though it is true that this agreement and other recent ones, like it are not the mega contracts worth billions of dollars in sales, it is likely that Sullivan may live to see those types of deals. But, in any case, the number of contracts between Moscow and Latin America continue to increase, and the combined numbers of them, in terms of revenue enriching the Kremlin’s coffers, are mounting up to real money.
On The Economic/Trade Front
Gradually, Russia is becoming a major trade partner for several Latin American countries. According to a January 11 report by Latin American News Digest, Russia has authorized imports of Chilean pork, poultry, lamb and beef and will soon be extending such purchases to include meat from Mexico. These imports are in addition to an already lengthy roster of products that Moscow is buying from producers throughout the region. For example, Peruvian fishery markets have soared in volume in the past year, with Russia being one of its main targets for Lima’s frozen fish sales, according to Peru’s Ministry of Production. Meanwhile, ADEX, Peru’s association of exporters, has reported that Peruvian grape exports rose to $29.3 million for the period from October to December 2006, which to large part is due to aggressively pursued increase in its shipments to the Russian market.
Regarding the region’s southern cone, Uruguay’s meat exports in 2006 have sharply increased principally as a result of growing exports to Russia. Moscow now accounts for 21.8% of Uruguay’s meat exports, according to data provided by that country’s National Meat Institute. In addition, Russia was the largest importer of Argentine horse meat in the first eleven months of 2006, at a figure of $27.3 million. The South American country also saw an increase in the revenue from its beef exports to Russia, Brazil’s main meat exporting destination, registering $132.14 million, up from $48.34 according to 2005-06 figures. Russia also accounted for some 51% of Brazilian pork exports in terms of volume and was the main pork export destination for Brazil in 2006. It is clear that Moscow is taking advantage of the income influx from its huge global oil and gas trade, putting it to good use by buying commodities from around the world. Not only is Russia importing a wide range of products from a number of Latin American countries, which satisfies the country’s political and commercial needs, but is also increasing its volume of exports to the region annually.
The Defense Industry
The prominent issue that has raised eyebrows in Washington is the robustness of Russia’s military defense industry and that the value of its exports to Latin America, including last year’s controversial sale of one hundred thousand Kalishnikov assault rifles to Venezuela was the largest in recent years. Chávez has also purchased 24 Su-30 mulit-role fighter planes, as well as 53 transport and attack military helicopters. The Associated Press, the Andean Group Report and other news services have reported that the overall cost of these contracts comes to around $3 billion. Regarding Venezuela’s recent arm purchases, the former commander of U.S. Southern Command, General Bantz J. Craddock, declared in September that “I think there’s an exporting of instability coming out of Venezuela.” Calling the instability “unfortunate,” Craddock went on to point out the “glut of money [in Venezuela] from oil. Money talks in a lot of parts of the world. It buys things, influence.”
Nevertheless, Washington’s preoccupation with Venezuela has not prevented Moscow from promoting military sales there as well as to other Latin American armed forces. At the time of the Kalishnikov sale to Caracas, the Washington Times’ Kelly Hearn reported that Russia was also considering a military sale to Argentina. Over the past year, several meetings have taken place between officials from both countries regarding the possible purchase of Russian-made military helicopters and armor-plated patrol boats. Peru is also revisiting former Russian military ties from the 1980s, by signing a deal with Moscow to repair and upgrade the Andean country’s Soviet-era Mi-8 military helicopter air fleet. Regarding Moscow’s former ties with Lima, the Latin American department director at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Dogadin, has no trouble saying that “Peru is our traditional regional partner, and we are broadening bilateral relations in various spheres.”
What’s to Come
During his trip to Nicaragua, Putin’s representative, Sergey Stepashin, declared that: “The countries of the region [Latin America] would like to have and count on the presence of a major power that has the necessary economic, military-technical, geopolitical, and scientific and cultural capabilities.” A similar statement was made by Ruslan Pukhov, who explained that: “[Russia supports] all countries that pursue in their regions independent foreign and defense policies without looking at Washington, obviously in hope to counterbalance the huge pressure the US and its regional allies are exerting on other countries.” Whether it is for political or commercial interests, Russia is certainly making a strong comeback in Latin America, with Venezuela as one of its lynch pins.
This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Fellow Alex Sánchez
February 14th, 2007
http://www.nowpublic.com/islamists_touting_growing_rise_of_islam_in_america
Interesting article, has links hidden for the rest of the story.
Videos about jihad and of jihad, or so the titles read:
http://arabracismislamofascism.blogspot.com/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1785169/posts
Death To America!
Youtube ^ | 2/15/2007 | Youtube
Posted on 02/14/2007 11:35:38 PM PST by Dallas59
Death To America!
Death To America!!!
[I did not try to watch this, let me know what it is, please.]
http://www.freerepublic.com/~xmission/
XMission, has collected the links to the WMD of Iraq, an impressive list.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1785035/posts
The thread about the list.
UK firms to be investigated on bribes paid to Saddam's regime
http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-20/0702140080221110.htm
UK firms to be investigated on bribes paid to Saddam's regime
http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/menu-234/key-83633/
London, Feb 14 IRNA
--
Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation into
allegations that a number of major UK-based firms paid bribes to Saddam
Hussein's regime in Iraq. The firms being targeted include the drug
giants
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly as well as
international
oil traders Mabey and Johnson, the Guardian newspaper reported
Wednesday.
Several British companies were among a long list of international firms
accused in a two-year old UN report of paying bribes under the
discredited
oil-for-food sanctions regime, which enabled Saddam to illicitly amass
an
estimated Dlrs 1.8 billion before his overthrow.
The British inquiry, which has been given an initial fund of Pnds 22
million
(Dlrs 41 m) over the next three years, was ordered by the SFO director,
Robert Wardle.
Under their wide-ranging powers, investigators can order companies to
disclose documentation, call witnesses for questioning and ultimately
could
launch criminal prosecutions.
The UN report, compiled by Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the US
Federal
Reserve, accused GSK of paying bribes worth Dlrs 1 m to win nine
contracts
valued at Dlrs 11.9m to supply medicines.
But according to the Guardian, GSK has denied any wrongdoing and said
the UN
oil-for-food programme was run in the UK by the Department of Trade and
Industry.
Another company, Eli Lilly, was accused of securing a Dlrs 3.2m
contract
with a bribe of Dlrs 343,000, while AstraZeneca was named as having
paid
bribes of Dlrs 162,000 to secure three contracts worth Dlrs 2.9m.
The Volcker report, citing banking records, also alleged that Mabey and
Johnson paid a Dlrs 202,000 kickback between 2001 and 2003 and in
return was
given a Dlrs 3.6m contract by the Iraqis.
It also identified a number of UK-linked oil companies and individuals
accused of profiting from backdoor deals with Saddam Hussein.
Soon, oh' soon, Iran's brutal ruling dictatorship, made up of barbaric, 7th century, Mahdi-mad, Shi'ite death cult jihadists will be swiftly sent to their moon god.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6416418,00.html
Saudi Terrorists Call for Oil Cutoff
Thursday February 15, 2007 2:01 AM
By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF
Associated Press Writer
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - A Saudi Arabian terrorist faction affiliated with
al-Qaida has urged Muslim militants to attack oil facilities all over
the world, including Canada, Mexico and Venezuela, to stop the flow of
oil to the United States, according to an article by the group posted
on the Internet.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula said in its monthly magazine posted
on an Islamic Web site that ``cutting oil supplies to the United
States, or at least curtailing it, would contribute to the ending of
the American occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.'' The group said it
was making the statements as part of Osama bin Laden's declared
policy. It was not possible to verify independently that the posting
was from the terror faction.
Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for last year's attacks on oil
installations in Saudi Arabia and Yemen after bin Laden called on
militants to stop the flow of oil to the West. The group also was
behind the 2002 attack on a French oil tanker that killed one person
in the Gulf of Aden.
The article in the online magazine Sawt al-Jihad, or Voice of the Holy
War, said the United States would always need more oil.
``In the long run, America might be able to lessen its dependence on
Middle East oil and would be satisfied with oil from Canada, Mexico,
Venezuela and other new customers or double its dependence on
alternative energy resources; therefore, oil interests in all regions
that serve the U.S. and not only in the Middle East, should be
attacked,'' said the article.
The online magazine said the aim of the attacks was to ``cut its
(U.S.) oil imports or reduce them by all means.''
The Canadian Security Intelligent Service declined to comment on the
report.
Ray Lord, a spokesman for Chevron Corp., told the Canadian media
company CanWest News the company was not aware of the threat but it
takes security threats seriously. ``It is a top priority for us. Ever
since 9/11 our entire company has been on an elevated alert,'' he said.
Al-Qaida, in a statement claiming responsibility for attacks in
November on oil installations in Yemen, said ``these operations were
carried out upon the directive of our emir (leader) Osama bin Laden,
may God protect him, in which he ordered Muslims to strike at the
Western economy and drain it, and to halt the robbing of Muslims'
wealth.''
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Content/displayPrintable.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/13/wiran313.xml&site=5&page=0
Iraqi insurgents using Austrian rifles from Iran
By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
Last Updated: 7:05pm GMT 13/02/2007
# Austria distances itself from rifles row
# Audio: Revelation makes US action against Iran more likely, says Thomas Harding
Austrian sniper rifles that were exported to Iran have been discovered in the hands of Iraqi terrorists, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
A Steyr HS50 rifle, Austrian supplied rifles, arms trade, Iran equipping Iraq insurgents
The Steyr HS50 is a long range, high precision rifle
More than 100 of the.50 calibre weapons, capable of penetrating body armour, have been discovered by American troops during raids.
The guns were part of a shipment of 800 rifles that the Austrian company, Steyr-Mannlicher, exported legally to Iran last year.
The sale was condemned in Washington and London because officials were worried that the weapons would be used by insurgents against British and American troops.
Within 45 days of the first HS50 Steyr Mannlicher rifles arriving in Iran, an American officer in an armoured vehicle was shot dead by an Iraqi insurgent using the weapon.
advertisement
Over the last six months American forces have found small caches of the £10,000 rifles but in the last 24 hours a raid in Baghdad brought the total to more than 100, US defence sources reported.
The find is the latest in a series of discoveries that indicate that Teheran is providing support to Iraq's Shia insurgents.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, yesterday denied that Iran had supplied weapons to Iraqi insurgents. But on Sunday US officials in Baghdad displayed a range of weapons they claimed had originated in Iran.
They said 170 American and British soldiers had been killed by such weapons.
The discovery of the sniper rifles will further encourage those in Washington who want to see Iran's uranium-enriching facilities destroyed before a nuclear weapon is produced.
The Foreign Office expressed "serious concerns" over the sale of the rifles last year and Britain protested to the Austrian government.
A Foreign Office spokesman said last night: "Although we did make our worries known the sale unfortunately went ahead and now the potential that these weapons could fall into the wrong hands appears to have happened."
The rifle can pierce all body armour from up to a mile and penetrate armoured Humvee troop carriers.
It is highly accurate and fires a round called an armour piercing incendiary, a bullet that the Iranians manufacture.
The National Iranian Police Organisation bought the rifles allegedly to use them against drug smugglers in an £8 million order placed with Steyr in 2005.
The company was given permission to export them by the Austrian government, which is not a Nato member.
Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group
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