The mood around here certainly has taken a turn for the worse in the last 24 hours. I guess we'll all breathe a sigh of relief if 2 Feb passes without any attacks.
I believe a lot of it was attempted diversion from the Monica scandal. One of my brothers who is former military intel and has worked for Dept. of Defense for the past 25 years lives in Germany. He has worked at European Command/Nato for the past 18 years. When we went into the Balkans I called him and said "what are we doing?" He couldn't say much, as usual, but since he was/is no fan of Clinton he said "Clinton is a whore and he is pandering to the bad guys". My brother was not happy about us going into the Balkans the way we did, said it would come back to bite us as pandering to the muslins was a big mistake. I'm afraid his words are coming to pass. He still has to go to Russia and various spots in the Balkans and hates going to either place. Just a little "for what it's worth".
That problem of illegals JP mentioned is HUGE, and our crime statistics validate this.
Thanks for your insight/clarification on "island". I had not realized that. Your interpretations are appreciated.
Thanks Donna, I am keeping my eyes wide and the door shut. No gaps!
There seems to be a lot of activity on the other side of the pond, I would be interested to know how Europe and the UK would cope with such threats and activities. The UK has had a high influx of assylum seekers and visitors from overseas. I have always had a strong feeling prior to Sept 11 that some and only some of these people were entering for a reason that goes far beyond the need for a 'better life' a decent bed and a good meal.
There were high alerts for the whole xmas period and beyond yet just as the US, the media seems to have gone quiet - except for the Hutton affair.
I was going to slip by this board only once or twice but there have been details posted of things which could indicate a hit on a part of the UK. There is a Nuk' pow'r source on the Severn, by the sea, docks and less than a few miles away from heavily populated areas and several airports. One is directly across the sea by far less than 50 miles!! The recent Jihaddi picture posted with the lightening, flames and twogun toerags rang a few bells. The area of the lightening pattern looks like the outline of a map of the Severn area of the UK.
I know the image appears to be directed at the middle east but I am seeing it in another way. There are also several ideas posted on here about Severnaya referring to a place in Russia. The recent reference to the 'Island' in a post somewhere also made me sit up a bit.
There was a very very rare earth tremor in the same region this evening, pure coincidence but odd.
Heads up folks: Incoming
Courtesy: Haaretz
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/388486.html
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PM meeting with security officials on J'lem bus bomb
By Haaretz Staff and Agencies
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was meeting with senior security officials on Thursday night to discuss Israel's response to the suicide bus bombing in Jerusalem earlier in the day, in which ten people were killed and fifty were wounded.
Earlier Thursday, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered the security establishment not to renew a closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip following the suicide attack.
Mofaz explained that the decision not to impose a closure on Palestinian cities was made so as not to make the lives of the Palestinian public harder. He said that action would be taken specifically against terror organizations.
Mofaz said that Israel is committed to a policy of "differentiating" between civilians and those who carry out terror attacks. At the time of the bombing, at approximately 9 A.M., Mofaz was meeting with U.S. envoys David Satterfield and John Wolf, to discuss easing conditions for the Palestinian population. The decision to refrain from imposing a general closure on the territories came despite opposition expressed by Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter, who recommended that stricter measures be taken.
The blast took place on Egged bus No. 19, on the corners of Arlozorov and Gaza streets, very close to the official residence of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was not in the building at the time. The site of the explosion is also close to the Moment Cafe, where 13 people were killed in a March 2002 suicide bombing.
Some 31 people wounded in the attack were still hospitalized, 12 of them in serious condition, Channel Two reported. The rest sustained moderate to light injuries. All of the wounded were taken to hospitals in the Jerusalem area.
The names of eight of the ten people killed in the attack have been released: Eli Tsfira, 48; Chana Anya Bunder, 38; Baruch Hondiashvilli, 38; Dana Itach, 24; Avraham (Albert) Balhasan, 28; Natalia Gamril, 50; Octovian Floresco Viorel, 42; Rose Bona, 39 from Jerusalem; Yehezkel Goldberg, 42, from Betar Ilit.
Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claims attack
The Fatah-related Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. Palestinian sources named the bomber as Ali Yusuf Jaara, a 24-year-old Palestinian policeman from Bethlehem.
Palestinian security officials said later Thursday that the bomber was a member of the Palestinian police, from the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
The bomber was in the back of the bus when the explosives were detonated, said Jerusalem Police Commander Mickey Levy.
"It was a very serious attack on a bus packed with passengers," Levy said. "According to what we know at the moment... we're talking about a suicide bomber."
The blast tore apart the bus, turning it into a twisted wreck. Shattered glass lay on the ground. One side of the bus had been blown out and the back half of the roof was blown off.
Channel Ten quoted the driver of the bus, who was wounded in the attack, as saying that he did not see anyone suspicious get on the bus.
Bus driver calls scene 'a nightmare'
"It was like a pastoral scene - the sun was shining and it was serene outside - but the bus was a nightmare. Bodies were sitting in their chairs, burnt, motionless," said witness Drora Resnick.
"There were burnt children sitting together. People started rushing off the bus, but they were still there, not moving."
A resident of the area, who only gave his first name, Ofer, said he heard the blast and ran to the scene.
"I saw sights that we are now becoming used to seeing: a bus with its back part cut off, people jumping from the bus," he told Channel 10.
Stephane Ben Shushan, who owns a chocolate store in the upscale neighborhood, was walking to work and was outside his shop, about 10 meters away, when the explosion went off.
"It's indescribable," he said. "It's a real nightmare, you can smell the blood." He said there was heavy traffic and the bus was driving slow at the time.
The explosion came just two days after senior Egyptian officials made another attempt to win a pledge from Palestinian militants to halt attacks on Israelis.
The attack was a further setback to international efforts to bring about a resumption of peace talks. The U.S.-led road map peace plan has been stalled almost since its inception in June of last year.
PA condemns bombing
The Palestinian Authority condemned the bombing, and senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called for a renewal of "a meaningful peace process." Otherwise, he said, "violence will breed violence, bullets will breed bullets."
The last suicide bombing in the capital ahead of Thursday's attack took place on September 9, 2003, when seven people were killed and dozens wounded in suicide bombing at the popular Cafe Hillel on Emek Refaim Street.
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My analysis:
Reference the Israeli bus bombing yesterday, there is a lot of dynamics at work there that could impact us here. Arafat could be expelled, or Syria could be struck for their support of terrorist cells in Gaza through Hizbullah. Al Aqsa is a component of Tanzim/Fatah, and is often assisted financially and technically by Hizbullah.
The pressure on Sharon and other members of the Israeli government to take action is enormous. Israelis are sick of the death and are becoming very angry at the government for their pacifist policies.
President Bush is also under the gun from his support base for the Roadmap policy by the conservative
The recipe for a very large change in the script is in the air.
Exactly how this could fit into our threat remains to be determined, but one thing is clear: it wont help it out.
All that supersecret stuff - its only going to make EOM and Daleel jealous they don't have it. Doesn't he know they are easily antagonized?