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Posted on 03/05/2005 5:06:15 PM PST by nwctwx
Edited on 03/29/2005 8:49:43 PM PST by Jim Robinson. [history]
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This is another instance in which I hope the powers that be have their eyes and ears fine tuned to Jihadi chatter. We too have technological knowledge and if we are up to snuff, extracting information from those communications should be a given. The Jihadis may send coded e-mail and written messages, but for most people oral conversations are usually not fully encoded (realizing they may use certain words in place of other words as we've discussed before here on TM).
English only policy at donut shop raises hackles
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1365976/posts
"Pakistan test-fires longest-range missile (1,250 miles)"
Bakersfield Californian ^ | 3/18/05 | AP
Posted on 03/18/2005 10:11:25 PM PST by NormsRevenge
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan successfully test-fired its longest-range, nuclear-capable missile Saturday.
The test comes two days after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Pakistan to encourage its peace process with neighboring India. There was no immediate reaction from New Delhi.
The Shaheen II missile has a range of 1,250 miles and it successfully hit the target, said Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, a spokesman for the Pakistan army."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1365961/posts
"TSA stops troops from invading SFO Airport"
KCBS News Radio Website ^ | 3/17/2005 | KCBS
Posted on 03/18/2005 8:57:20 PM PST by PotreroAaron
Thanks for the ping Karl. The problem with him getting away is that policemen tend to act like "outta sight outta mind" because of all the other creeps out there committing crime and not enough policemen on duty to catch them.
LAX Resigned to Long Lines, Despite Cloud of Terrorism
Despite warnings by security experts that long lines at Los Angeles International Airport are vulnerable to a terrorist attack, airport officials have concluded that the staff cannot be added to significantly shorten queues in the next few years.
Rand Corp. recommended last fall that airlines and federal officials hire more people to speed travelers from sidewalks and terminal lobbies into the more secure gate areas as the quickest and cheapest way to protect LAX passengers.
But in documents obtained by The Times, the airport's top official advised the City Council that a third more airline workers and screeners would be needed — an increase that's not feasible. And even if cash-strapped airlines could hire additional staff, there wouldn't be enough ticket counter space for them, airport officials said.
But Rand insisted that the urgency of reducing lines at the world's fifth-busiest airport remained.
"It's still the recommended thing to do," said Donald Stevens, a senior engineer at Rand and lead author of the Santa Monica-based research institute's September study.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lax19mar19,0,1791217.story?coll=la-home-headlines
That's interesting Karl.
That's news to me.
I appreciate the link.
PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
===
===
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05030094.htm
ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com
Friday, March 18, 2005
STATE DEPARTMENT BARS GUJARAT CHIEF MINISTER FROM ENTRY INTO THE US FOR SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Institute On Religion And Public Policy Highlighted For Role In Decision
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
WASHINGTON, D.C, (ANS) -- The US Department of State announced today that it will deny a visa to one of the world’s most notorious violators of religious freedom, Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi, according to information received by ASSIST News Service (ANS).
Facing pressure from the Institute on Religion and Public Policy and numerous other groups who signed on to a letter circulated by the Institute to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and from more than 20 Members of Congress led by Representative Joseph Pitts (R-PA), the State Department denied Mr. Modi an entry visa and upheld President Bush’s commitment to protect freedom and democracy worldwide.
Mr. Modi was to be the chief guest of the 2005 Annual Convention and Trade Show of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association in Ft. Lauderdale, FL to be held on March 24-26 and had a scheduled speech at Madison Square Garden on March 20th.
“It is a historic day for those of us committed to protecting freedom of religion globally,” commented Joseph K. Grieboski, Institute President.
“Denying Mr. Modi’s visa is an ideal application of the International Religious Freedom Act. Denying entry into the US of this man whose actions lead to the deaths of thousands solely because of their religious beliefs sends an explicit message to oppressive regimes everywhere.”
Congressman Pitts added, “This decision tells people still suffering in Gujarat that we believe they all deserve the right to equal treatment under the law and we're willing to stand up to people who deny it to them. And it tells foreign leaders that we will not stand for religious persecution.”
In a letter signed by over 30 human rights and religious freedom advocacy groups sent to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in February, the Institute on Religion and Public Policy urged her to bar Mr. Modi from U.S. soil in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
Section 405(a) items 7 and 8 of the International Religious Freedom Act allows for the denial of a visa for those who are directly responsible for severe violations of religious freedom while in public office. Though the original bill only allowed consideration of acts committed in the previous 24 months, it was amended by the intelligence reform legislation passed in December, 2004 to include violations that occurred at any time.
Since taking office as Chief Minister of Gujarat on October 7, 2001, Mr. Modi has pursued a campaign of extremism targeting religious minorities in Gujurat. The most egregious violation of religious freedom engaged by Mr. Modi was the orchestrated attacks in Gujurat in 2001 in which more than 2,000 Muslims were killed during government condoned riots.
The Indian Supreme Court in 2004 stated that trials surrounding the riots in Gujarat will never be fairly held due to Mr. Modi’s state leadership.
Furthermore, an announcement in January 2005 that the primary motivation for the riots -- a train fire that killed dozens, mostly Hindus -- was not planned or executed by religiously-motivated Muslims, lends credence to the theory that Mr. Modi’s government planned and assisted in the execution of the riots.
Also since taking office, Mr. Modi has overseen the introduction of Nazi literature into Gujarat education standards and the passage of anti-conversion legislation targeting Muslims and Christians.
Contact: Benjamin Marsh
Resident Fellow, Institute on Religion and Public Policy
Washington Director, Dalit Freedom Network
Phone 202-835-8760
www.religionandpolicy.org
www.dalitnetwork.org
Niki Humphreys
Director of Development
Dalit Freedom Network
9034 E. Easter Pl., Suite 206
Centennial, CO 80112-2104 USA
phone: 303-221-1333
toll free: 866-921-1333
fax: 303-770-0663
www.dalitnetwork.org
** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Garden Grove, CA. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in Sept., 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
The scary thing, its been targeted twice in the last five years, and they still haven't done anything with those lines.
Well Karl, if this is the case and good people know about it; then it's probably a safe bet that the terrorists know about that airport situation , too.
http://www.wtop.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=141083
"Defense Seeks to Bar 'Jihad' Case Witness"
Updated: Thursday, Mar. 17, 2005 - 8:28 PM
By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press Writer
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - Lawyers for an Islamic scholar accused of exhorting his followers after the Sept. 11 attacks to fight Americans in Afghanistan want to bar testimony from a 26-year-old law school graduate who bills himself as "the Doogie Howser of terrorism."
Evan Kohlmann, expected to be an expert witness for the prosecution against Ali al-Timimi at his trial next month, is not really an expert at all, defense lawyers said in a motion filed earlier this month.
"Kohlmann is only one of many persons who have, in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, attempted to capitalize on the terrorism 'cottage industry' by making regular appearances in the media by labeling themselves as experts," defense lawyers Edward MacMahon and Alan Yamamoto wrote.
Prosecutors responded Thursday that Kohlmann has been previously qualified as an expert witness and that they are confident of his qualifications."
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Mar/18/ln/ln31p.html
Posted on: Friday, March 18, 2005
"Two Mexican women arrested in drug bust"
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Two Mexican citizens were arrested in a Waikiki hotel room Wednesday after they allegedly sold almost two pounds of crystal methamphetamine to an undercover police officer, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court yesterday.
Daniela Soledad Lopez-Meza and Gisela Judith Rochin-Gaxiola were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine.
"It's highly doubtful these girls were acting on their own," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Inciong."
NOTE: The following text is an exact quote:
===
===
http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/2005/Goss_testimony_03172005.html
Testimony of the Director of Central Intelligence
The Honorable Porter J. Goss
before the
Senate Armed Services Committee
17 March 2005
(as prepared for delivery)
Members of the Committee, thank you so much for providing me this opportunity to appear before you today.
I hope to accomplish a number of things during this time. I want to briefly share with you my thoughts relative to the threats facing the United States in the coming years. By virtue of the unclassified nature of this setting I will not go into great detail and look forward to more in-depth discussion of the threats with the Committee in closed session. I also want to discuss the broader issues of the capabilities the Intelligence Community requires to face these threats. The capabilities issue is one that fundamentally impacts the way we support policymakers and warfighters.
Challenges and Changes We Face
The war on terrorism has presented the Intelligence Community with challenges unlike any before. We are facing small groups of terrorists and extremist rather than standing armies. They operate out of homes and caves rather than military bases and government entities. They don't wear uniforms, they don't use conventional ordnance, and they don't observe norms and standards of civilized society. And only a few individuals may know the complete plan of a given terrorist plot.
In response we changed the way we gather secrets. Professional interrogation has become a very useful and necessary way to obtain information to save innocent lives, to disrupt terrorist schemes, and to protect our combat forces. The USG had documented success protecting people and capturing terrorists with information. As I have said before, the USG does not engage in or condone torture.
• We will continue to be successful and take terrorists and extremists off the battlefield. But these are risky activities and I will be asking the men and women of the CIA to take more risks—justifiable risks—in the days and months to come. I would much rather explain why we did something than why we did nothing. I am asking your support.
Processing What We Collect
The volume and scope of information that the Intelligence Community collects, processes and provides to policymakers and warfighters has grown tremendously. We face several issues here.
•
First, I believe we have made great strides in improving the information flow between CIA, FBI, DHS, and others, yet we still face challenges. We all understand this and are working hard to improve the information sharing in all directions.
•
Second, as we continually vet sources of threat information we need to do better at discerning what is a real threat, and what is wishful thinking, and to establish a threshold for devoting analytical and operational resources to track down a lead. Establishing this threshold is also critical to our ability to provide intelligence on options for strategic decisions, and to give the American public an accurate assessment of the threat facing the country.
•
Third, for all of the successes we have had and advances we have made, serious and unnecessary damage is caused by media leaks. Unauthorized disclosures of classified information threatens the survivability of the sources and methods that we depend on. We have lost opportunity, if not capability, because of irresponsible leaks and we have made it easier for our enemies.
Making Intelligence Actionable
Collecting secrets - and keeping them secret - is only half the battle. Having intelligence that is actionable and is acted upon through clearly defined mechanisms is just as critical. Terrorists started the war on our soil. We have taken the war to them. Sometimes this requires what we euphemistically call a "kinetic" solution on foreign soil. We have to be able to use all of the tools at our disposal and understand the consequences of how we use them. Dealing successfully with dangerous terrorists requires rapid application of the proper capabilities whether the USG is conducting planned strikes or exploiting targets of opportunity.
Developing the Right Cadre
I welcome the President's directive to increase CIA's HUMINT and analytical capabilities by nearly half. The good news is that smart, eager, and talented people are applying for work in record numbers. Recruiting, training, equipping, and retaining the new more diverse workforce will be a growing endeavor. To do so, I want to help establish a National University of Intelligence, not just for the CIA, but for all agencies within the Intelligence Community. This will be one initiative I will bring to the DNI when he gets started. This will help define a new Intelligence Community culture, better coordinate the way we do business across the government, and enhance willing cooperation.
I look forward to the DNI's confirmation and leadership in bringing together the collective efforts of the Intelligence Community. He will be faced with decisions about how information is collected, prepared and delivered to the President and to other senior leaders and customers. I am ready to help the DNI marshal the efforts and resources of the domestic and international operations of IC agencies, not just in the war on terror but in our other necessary global endeavors. As I turn over the DCI Intelligence Community responsibilities, I am confident that the 15 agencies in the Intelligence Community will rally around the DNI and bring their unique abilities to bear on the joint mission of making America safer.
Threat
Now, I turn to specific threats. I will not attempt to cover everything that could go wrong in the year ahead. We must, and do, concentrate our efforts, experience and expertise on matters that are most pressing: defeating terrorism; protecting the Homeland; stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and drugs; and fostering stability, freedom and peace in the most troubled regions of the world.
Terrorism
Mr. Chairman, defeating terrorism will remain our top objective as widely dispersed terrorist networks present real danger to US national security interest at home and abroad.
•
Our reporting indicates al-Qa'ida is intent on finding ways to circumvent US security enhancements to strike Americans and the Homeland. Their intent, perhaps passion, to harm us for being who we are is just as vital as ever.
•
Our reporting that al-Qa'ida or another group wants to use chemical, biological, radiological, and/or nuclear weapons cannot be ignored.
•
The threat from a broader Sunni jihadist movement is broad. We have witnessed this in Madrid, Bali, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and many other places. It is worth noting that other groups in Pakistan, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, East Africa, and Europe, also pose a significant threat to our security.
•
In Iraq, Zarqawi merged his organization with al-Qa'ida last year seeking to bring about the final victory of his vision of Islam over the "infidels" and "apostates."
Proliferation
Let me start with Libya, a good news story, and one that shows that with the patient perseverance the Intelligence Community can tackle and achieve remarkable things.
• In 2004 Tripoli followed through with a range of steps to disarm itself of WMD and ballistic missiles. The US continues to work with Libya to clarify some discrepancies in the declaration, but all in all we are seeing some very helpful cooperation from Tripoli these days.
Looking to North Korea and Iran, we have different issues.
•
P'yongyang has announced it has a nuclear weapon capability.
•
Concern remains that Iran could utilize the uranium enrichment technology it is pursuing to achieve a nuclear weapon
Other Areas of Concern
In CHINA, Beijing's military modernization and military buildup are posing new questions for us. Improved Chinese capabilities seemingly threaten US forces in the region. China's recent legislation on secession speaks for itself.
In RUSSIA, the attitudes and actions of the former KGB associates that Putin has placed in positions of authority throughout the Russian government may be critical determinants of the course Putin will pursue in the year ahead.
In the MIDDLE EAST, the election of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, of course, marks a welcome step forward. There, nevertheless, are hurdles ahead as the Palestinian leadership tries to rebuild the Palestinian Authority and to counter terrorist groups that could destabilized the current calm and derail talks.
In SOUTHEAST ASIA, the Philippines is struggling with prolonged radical Islamic and Communist rebellions and the presence of terrorists seeking safe haven and training bases. Thailand is plagued with an increasingly volatile Muslim separatist threat in its southeastern provinces, and the risk of escalation remains.
In AFRICA, chronic instability in countries such as Sudan and Nigeria, and in areas such as the Horn of Africa, will continue to hamper counterterrorism efforts and offer a potential sanctuary for terrorists.
In LATIN AMERICA, the region is entering a major electoral cycle in 2005/2006, when Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Venezuela, and now Bolivia will hold presidential elections. Several key countries in the hemisphere are potential flashpoints in 2005, including Venezuela, Haiti, Colombia and Cuba.
Mr. Chairman, Senator Levin - again, thank you for this opportunity. There are an awful lot of sore spots out there. We of course are trying to stay on top of them so we are well informed and can take appropriate action. The help of your committee will be invaluable.
Thank you.
###
[Speeches and Testimony Page] [Public Affairs Page] [CIA Homepage]
Page last updated: Thu Mar 17 2005 08:24:50.
If you have questions or comments about this Web site, Contact Us.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1366005/posts
"Suicide car bomber attacks U.S. convoy in Iraq (Ramadi)"
Reuters photos | March 19, 2005
Posted on 03/19/2005 12:01:38 AM PST by HAL9000
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "RAMADI, Iraq, March 19 (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber attacked a U.S. military convoy in Iraq's rebel stronghold of Ramadi on Saturday, said a police official.
No immediate information was available on whether there were any casualties.
Insurgents frequently target U.S. patrols and convoys in Ramadi, some 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad."
ON THE NET...
http://www.islamic-f.net/vb/
ON THE NET...
http://www.persecution.org
http://www.assistnews.net
http://www.internet-haganah.us/haganah/index.html
http://www.memri.org/jihad.html
http://www.jihadwatch.org
http://www.danielpipes.org
===
===
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43372
"Muslims demand papal apology for crusades
Highest Sunni authority sends official request to Vatican"
Posted: March 19, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The world's highest Sunni Muslim authority has demanded an official apology from the pope for the medieval Christian crusades.
Sheikh Fawzi Zafzaf, president of the Interfaith Dialogue Committee of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, said his panel sent the request to the Vatican in February, the Morocco Times reported."
From the 'Most Dangerous Gang' link:
The Maldon Institute report indicates that MS-13 “appears to be in control of much of the Mexican border and, in addition to its smuggling and contraband rackets, the gang collects money from illegal immigrants that it helps [move] across the border into the United States.”
Good find Cindy. Thanks for the links.
Just catching up after several days away.
For the record: I don't support EOM as a credible information source, I was merely responding to a question.
Velveeta - thanks for your support.
ExSoldier - you have freepmail.
The link to the original article in the post above
Elsewhere on FR, a dedicated thread
"Hide in Plane Sight (Authorities fear Boeing 727 stolen in Angola may be used in terrorism)"
From the PPRUNE Forum - a long and detailed thread called "727 stolen from Angola"
It used to have a picture of the plane's tanker modifications on page 9 but it doesn't seem to be there now :(
This article from the St. Petersburg Times dated 24 Oct 04 has it as still missing:
"Out of Africa, into thin air: A jet vanishes"
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