World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #4.

Tehran & Damascus Move to Lebanon Lebanon-born Walid Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Author of the recent book Future Jihad, he was also one of the architects of 2004’s United Nations resolution 1559, which called for the disarming of Hezbollah. NRO editor Kathryn Lopez recently talked to Phares about what’s going on in the Mideast, what happened to the Cedar Revolution, and this war we’re all in.

Kathryn Jean Lopez: What is “Future Jihad”? Are we seeing it in the Mideast now?

Walid Phares: “Future Jihad,” which has already begun, refers to a new and potent form of Islamic terrorism, characterized by a Khumeinist-Baathist axis. These are the two trees of jihadism, so to speak — the Salafism and Wahabism embodied in al Qaeda and the sort of jihadism led by Iran and also including Syria, Hezbollah, and their allies in Lebanon.

The alliance has not been in entire agreement as to strategy. The al Qaeda branch began its “Future Jihad” in the 1990s; its efforts culminated on 9/11 and have continued explosively since then. The international “Salafists” aimed at the U.S. in the past decade in order to strengthen their jihads on various battlefields (Chechnya, India, Sudan, Algeria, Indonesia, Palestine, etc.). “Weaken the resolve of America,” their ideologues said, “and the jihadists would overwhelm all the regional battlefields.”

As I argue in Future Jihad, bin Laden and his colleagues miscalculated on the timing of the massive attack against the U.S. in 2001. While they wounded America, they didn’t kill its will to fight (as was the case, for instance, in the Madrid 3/11 attacks). I have heard many jihadi cadres online, and have seen al Jazeera commentators on television, offering hints of criticism about the timing. They were blaming al Qaeda for shooting its imagined “silver bullet” before insuring a strategic follow up. But bin Laden and Zawahiri believe 9/11 served them well, and has put a global mobilization into motion. Perhaps it has, but the U.S. counter strategy in the Middle East, chaotic as the region currently appears, has unleashed counter jihadi forces. The jury is still out as to the time factor: when these forces will begin to weaken the jihadists depends on our perseverance and the public understanding of the whole conflict.

The other “tree” of jihadism, with its roots in Iran, withheld fire after 9/11. They were content to watch the Salafists fight it out with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention within the West, as terror cells were hunted down. Ahmedinejad, Assad, and Nasrallah were analyzing how far the US would go, and how far the Sunnis and Salafis would go as well.

The fall of the Taliban and of the Baath in Iraq, however, changed Iran and Syria’s patient plans. The political changes in the neighborhood, regardless of their immediate instability, were strongly felt in Tehran and Damascus (but unfortunately not in the U.S., judging from the political debate here), and pushed the Khumeinists and the Syrian Baathists to enter the dance, but carefully. Assad opened his borders to the jihadists in an attempt to crumble the U.S. role in Iraq, while Iran articulated al Sadr’s ideology for Iraq’s Shiia majority.

A U.S.-led response came swiftly in 2004 with the voting of UNSCR 1559, smashing Syria’s role in Lebanon and forcing Assad to withdraw his troops by April 2005. In response, the “axis” prepared for a counter attack on the Lebanese battlefield by assassinating a number of the Cedar Revolution leaders, including MP Jebran Tueni. In short, the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah and the kidnappings of soldiers were the tip of an offensive aimed at drawing attention away from Iran’s nuclear weapons programs and Syria’s assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Hezbollah was awaiting its moment for revenge against the Cedar Revolution too.

What we see now is 1) a Syro-Iranian sponsored offensive aimed at all democracies in the region and fought in Lebanon; 2) Israel’s counter offensive (which it seems to have prepared earlier); and 3) an attempt by Hezbollah to take over or crumble the Lebanese government.

Phares: Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the Cedar Revolution was failed. The masses in Lebanon responded courageously in March 2005 by putting 1.5 million people on the streets of Beirut. They did it without “no-fly-zones,” expeditionary forces, or any weapons at all, for that matter, and against the power of three regimes, Iran, Syria, and pro-Syrian Lebanon, in addition to Hezbollah terror. The “revolution” was for a time astoundingly successful; since then it has been horribly failed, and first of all by Lebanon’s politicians themselves. One of their leaders, General Michel Aoun, shifted his allegiances to Syria and signed a document with Hezbollah. Other politicians from the “March 14 Movement” then stopped the demonstrations, leaving them with the support of God knows what. They failed in removing the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and brought back a pro-Syrian politician to serve as a speaker of the house, Nabih Berri. Meanwhile, even as they were elected by the faithful Cedar Revolution masses, they engaged in a round table dialogue with Hezbollah, a clear trap set by Hassan Nasrallah: “Let’s talk about the future,” he said — with the implication, of course, that they forget about the Cedar Revolution and the militia’s disarming. While political leaders sat for months, enjoying the photo ops with Hassan Nasrallah, he was preparing his counter offensive, which he unleashed just a few days before the Security Council would discuss the future of Iran’s nuclear programs.

The Lebanese government of Prime Minister Seniora also abandoned the Cedar Revolution. His cabinet neither disarmed Hezbollah nor called on the U.N. to help in implementing UNSCR 1559. This omission is baffling. The government was given so much support by the international community and, more importantly, overwhelming popular support inside Lebanon: 80 percent of the people were hoping the Cedar Revolution-backed government would be the one to resume the liberation of the country. Now Hezbollah has an upper hand and the government is on the defensive.

The U.S. and its allies can be accused of certain shortcomings as well. While the speeches by the U.S. president, congressional leaders from both parties, Tony Blair, and Jacques Chirac were right on target regarding Lebanon, and while the U.S. and its counterparts on the Security Council were diligent in their follow up on the Hariri assassination and on implementing UNSCR 1559, there was no policy or plan to support the popular movement in Lebanon. Incredibly, while billions were spent on the war of ideas in the region, Lebanese NGOs that wanted to resume the struggle of the Cedar Revolution and fighting alone for this purpose were not taken seriously at various levels. Policy planners thought they were dealing with the “Cedar Revolution” when they were meeting Lebanon’s government and Lebanese politicians. The difference between the high level speeches on Lebanon and the laissez-faire approach from lower levels is amazing. Simply put, there was no policy on supporting the Cedar Revolution against the three regimes opposing it and the $400 million received by Hezbollah from Iran.

The Cedar Revolution was basically betrayed by its own politicians and is now essentially without a head. Nevertheless, as long as the international support remains, the Revolution will find its way and will face the dangers. The one and a half million ordinary citizens who braved all the dangers didn’t change their minds about Hezbollah’s terror. The resistance and counter-attack was to be expected. Unfortunately, thus far Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah have outmaneuvered the West and are at the throats of the Cedar Revolution. The international community must revise its plans, and, if it is strongly backed by the U.S. and its allies, including France, the situation can be salvaged. The good seeds are still inside the country.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/9/25/204533.shtml?s=lh

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Gaping Holes in America's Security

Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com
Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006

Book: "Enemies - How America's Foes Steal Our Vital Secrets - And How We Let it Happen,"
Author: Bill Gertz
Publisher: Crown Forum $26.95, 290 pages.

"She's been a communist since the day she was born. Her bona fides are impeccable. I gradually converted her - she's now a rock-ribbed Republican."

So boasted FBI agent and counterintelligence expert James J. Smith when he introduced Katrina Leung to fellow China specialists in the bureau. He neglected to add that he was also sleeping with the lady, who was in reality a rock-ribbed spy for China.

Shocking as Smith's sexual escapades with an agent allegedly under his control were, he was not alone in his indiscretions - Leung was also sleeping with his boss, William Cleveland, chief of the FBI's counterintelligence operations on the West Coast.

The full story of the Leung case - dubbed "Parlor Maid" is revealed in Gertz's book for the first time - told in the face of vehement protests from FBI officials who he charges "focused on protecting the FBI's already battered reputation from further damage."

The real damage, however was to America's national security. Parlor Maid was stealing the U.S. blind - furnishing her superiors in Beijing with some of our nation's top secrets and exposing ultra-sensitive information about America's vital counterintelligence operations.

And in the end, thanks to FBI bungling, she walked away scot-free.

"Parlor Maid is the story of a Chinese spy who got away," Gertz wrote. "And not just any spy. U.S. intelligence officials close to the case insist that regardless of the [failed] outcome of the prosecution, the Katrina Leung case represents one of the worst spy cases in U.S. history - and one of the worst U.S. intelligence failures as well."

Tragically, as Gertz discloses, Parlor Maid is merely the tip of the iceberg upon which U.S. counterintelligence has foundered. The book is rife with examples of the gaping hole in America's security. If the examples he cites are merely one example of the nation's inability to safeguard its secrets, we can no longer count on counterespionage agencies to protect us from both friends and foes who seek to steal our most sensitive secrets and use them against us.

In the book's introduction he reveals the vast scope of the problem. "Today, nearly 140 nations and some 35 known and suspected terrorist groups target the United States through espionage, according to intelligence officials," Gertz wrote.

"And since 1985, nearly 80 Americans have been caught spying for other countries. Over the past several decades, foreign agents have penetrated every U.S. national security agency except the Coast Guard. That includes the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Defense Department, and the Energy Department."

And writes Gertz, one of the nation's best informed journalists on security matters, "The enemy spying picture seems to be getting worse."

From the opening passages where he details the story of an FBI intelligence analyst and three year veteran of service in the White House who was spying for his native Philippines to such matters as what was known as the case of "Red Flower of North America," Gertz hammers away at the failures of the nation's security agencies to safeguard our secrets.

He reveals how China may well have reached the highest levels of our government, explains why Russia has as many spies here as it did during the height of the Cold War, and tells the sorry story of the many spies who escaped U.S. justice.

Gertz explains that vital importance to our national security of effective counterintelligence which he describes as "an absolutely essential line of defense against our enemies, including terrorist organizations."

And he adds: "Unfortunately, the U.S government has disregarded our counterintelligence capabilities and done little to repair the long-neglected and deeply fragmented counterintelligence apparatus."

As Gertz demonstrates, much of the problem lies in the bureaucratic culture of the 15 agencies responsible for intelligence activities. He quotes Richard Haver, a former ranking Pentagon official who has studied the problem since the 1980s, as warning that the U.S. must develop an aggressive counterintelligence strategy as opposed to a reactive one.

"The best defense is good offense," Haver said. "If you are sitting back, waiting for the enemy to attack you, it will happen. If you want effective counterintelligence, the principal element of that is the capability of your system to attack the adversary intelligence before it can attack you."

Writes Gertz: "Good counterintelligence gets you inside the foreign intelligence system and reveals what your enemy's plans are even before they are executed."

Doing this, he adds, will require a major cultural change which Haver insists is needed. Gertz says that the United States needs a culture of accountability: "Government agencies that collect and disseminate intelligence must be accountable for what happens in the operations they conduct and for the information they disseminate. If the information is bogus, they should be held accountable for getting it wrong."

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/9/27/180503.shtml?s=tn

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006 6:03 p.m. EDT

Roger Ailes Blasts Bill Clinton's 'Assault'

Fox News chief Roger Ailes says former President Clinton's response to Chris Wallace's question about going after Osama bin Laden represents "an assault on all journalists."

Ailes said Clinton had a "wild overreaction" in the interview, broadcast on "Fox News Sunday." Hundreds of thousands of people subsequently watched clips over the Internet, with Fox foes rallying behind Clinton.

"If you can't sit there and answer a question from a professional, mild-mannered, respectful reporter like Chris Wallace, then the hatred for journalists is showing," Ailes said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday. "All journalists need to raise their eyebrows and say, `hold on a second.'"

Wallace has said he asked Clinton about bin Laden partly because of ABC's recent docudrama "The Path to 9/11," widely criticized as full of falsehoods by former Clinton administration officials for depicting a bungling effort at going after the terrorist leader.

Wallace asked: "I understand that hindsight is always 20/20, but the question is, why didn't you connect the dots and put him out of business?"

Clinton said his administration did more than President Bush to go after bin Laden before the terrorist attacks. While Clinton said Wallace's question was legitimate, he called it a "conservative hit job" and accused Fox of not being similarly tough on Bush.

Clinton aides later said they considered the question an attack.

"They're out there saying (Wallace) was savage, he sandbagged (Clinton), he was taking orders on the question," Ailes said. "Chris Wallace has never taken orders on questions in his life. There's never been a discussion of that. I frankly think the assault on Chris Wallace is an assault on all journalists."

Barbara Cochran, president of the Radio and Television New Directors Association, said she worked with Wallace at NBC's "Meet the Press," where she was once executive producer. Wallace, who left ABC News to become "Fox News Sunday" host in 2003, was always a professional who asked tough questions and was not partisan, she said.

But Cochran said she would not comment on the larger question of what this meant for all journalists.

The liberal media watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, which has repeatedly criticized Fox News Channel for favoring Republican and conservative points of view, said it could see why Clinton got frustrated. Steve Rendell, FAIR senior media analyst, said it appeared Wallace was trying to cut off Clinton's answer.

"I would dismiss Roger Ailes' complaint as simply whining in an attempt to make Fox News appear the victim in this fight," Rendell said.

Ailes said he was surprised the story created such a reaction and that he understood the political response.

"They're trying to do this to rally their base, go after Fox News, set up a straw man," he said. "That's fine. America's favorite indoor sport is politics. I quit it 14 years ago because I hated it."

© 2006 Associated Press.

Al-Qaeda Previews Zawahiri Message About Pope, Group Reports

By Judy Mathewson

Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- A new speech by Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's second-in-command, that refers to Sept. 12 remarks by Pope Benedict XVI, is being advertised on jihadist Web sites and on-line forums, accord to a terrorist-monitoring group.

The Search for International Terrorist Entities Institute, which monitors terrorists' online activities, said the message is being advertised in a banner format that mentions as-Sahab productions, al-Qaeda's media branch.

The banner promises that al-Zawahiri will discuss remarks by Pope Benedict XVI, according to an e-mailed press statement from SITE, which is based in Washington.

The pope provoked Muslim protests around the world when he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor who linked Islam with violence. The advertisement also promises that Zawahiri will discuss U.S. President George W. Bush and Sudan's violence- wracked Darfur region.

The speech would be the fourth recorded al-Qaeda message since Sept. 2 to feature Zawahiri, an Egyptian-born doctor.

Zawahiri issued a message on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in which he said Arab Gulf states and Israel will be targets. On Sept. 7, al-Qaeda released a video purporting to show Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri meeting some of the Sept. 11 hijackers in an Afghan mountain camp.

A Sept. 2 tape featured al-Zawahiri and Adam Yehiye Gadahn, a U.S. born member of al-Qaeda.

Based on how much time usually elapses between such online advertisements and the release of the recordings online or to Arabic-language television stations, the new speech could be issued anytime in the next week, according to SITE analyst Adam Raisman. It will also most likely be a video and not an audio recording, Raisman said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Judy Mathewson in Washington at jmathewson@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 27, 2006 11:25 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=awfGUmfeJCRA&refer=germany

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/9/27/93754.shtml

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006 9:32 a.m. EDT

North Korea: U.S. Not World's 'Religious Judge'

North Korea hit back on Wednesday to U.S. charges that it suppresses religion by telling Washington to stop acting as the world's "religious judge."

The U.S. State Department, in its annual International Religious Freedom Report released this month, quoted defectors and others as saying North Korea imprisoned and executed people who tried to practise religion.

An article on Wednesday in Pyongyang's official Rodong Sinmun daily said: "The U.S., after the Sept. 11 incident, has murdered many Muslims in cold blood in its mainland, Afghanistan and Iraq and made no bones about insulting and overriding Islam and Islamic culture.

"The United States is not a 'religious judge' but a chief culprit in the repression and extermination of religion which should be put in the dock of a religious trial," Rodong Sinmun said, according to an authorised translation.

Reclusive North Korea, which governments and human rights groups say has one of the worst rights record in the world, bristles at any criticism of how it treats its citizens.

"They (U.S. leaders) hold heretical a religious view and religion which criticise or disapprove of the American way of life," said the article carried by the official KCNA news agency.

This is the latest in a long string of mutual recriminations between the two countries which remain technically at war half a century after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in an inconclusive truce.

On Tuesday, a senior North Korean official said Pyongyang would continue to boycott six-country talks on ending its nuclear weapons programme until Washington ends a crackdown on its international finances.

In recent months the United States has intensified the crackdown on firms it suspects of aiding the North in illicit activities, such as counterfeiting, making it more difficult for North Korea to do banking anywhere in the world.

The last round of the nuclear talks among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States took place in November 2005.

(c) Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

[unknown url]

US, Syria spar and Rice calls for sanctions

Tue Sep 26, 2006 4:50 PM ET
By Howard Goller

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and Syria locked horns on
Tuesday, with Washington urging others to join it in imposing sanctions
on
Damascus and Syria telling America to stop trying to impose its will on
Arabs.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem told the United Nations
General
Assembly that the world pays the price when the U.S. government thinks
it
knows what Arabs want better than the Arabs themselves.
Washington has long listed Syria as a "state sponsor of terrorism" and
relations have worsened with the United States accusing Syria of
helping to
fuel the insurgency in Iraq. Damascus denies both charges.
In May 2004, Washington banned U.S. exports to Syria other than food
and
medicine, severed banking relations with the Commercial Bank of Syria
and
barred Syrian flights to and from the United States.

"What we'd really like to do is we'd like to get some others to join us
in
other kinds of sanctions," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
told the
New York Times according to a State Department transcript released on
Tuesday.

Washington also recalled its ambassador to Damascus after the February
2005
assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Damascus
denies any involvement.

"I think as Syria continues to show its stripes and isolate itself from
its
Arab friends, that may be somewhat easier to do," Rice said. "We're
going to
have to look at tougher measures if Syria continues to be on the path
that
it's on."

She gave no details on what sanctions the United States might want to
impose. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters: "We
have a
variety of measures that are available to us." He did not elaborate.

Rice met world leaders for more than week on the sidelines of the
General
Assembly.
PAYING THE PRICE
In his U.N. speech, Rice's Syrian counterpart said it was essential
that the
United States and other countries draw up a schedule for withdrawing
from
Iraq. He insisted it would help curb the violence there.

"Tragically enough, we all end up paying the price when the decision
makers
in Washington believe that they know better, and are in a better
position to
understand and grasp the needs and circumstances of the Arabs," Moualem
said.

"They diagnose the ambitions and aspirations of the Arab individual in
a
manner that is tailored to their own vision."

Moualem assailed the United States for its support of Israel and other
policies in the Middle East, saying the flow of U.S. weapons to Israel
was
sowing destruction. He also criticized those who finance and support
what he
called the injustices of the Israeli occupation of Arab territories.

"The Palestinians are subjected to a crippling blockade because the
advocates of democracy were dissatisfied with the results of the
elections
in the Palestinian territories," Moualem said.

Washington and the European Union have imposed financial sanctions on
the
Hamas-led Palestinian government since it came to power in March
because the
Islamic movement refuses to recognize Israel, halt violence or honor
peace
deals with Israel.

Citing the U.N. Security Council resolution governing the August 14
cease-fire that ended 34 days of war between Israel and Hizbollah
guerrillas
in Lebanon, Moualem said Syria had adopted the "necessary measures" to
control its borders with Lebanon.

But he did not specifically mention arms which over the years have gone
to
the Hizbollah militia across the Syrian border. The Security Council
resolution placed an embargo on arms reaching anyone in Lebanon but the
national army.

(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington)

[850koa.com has a special on the shootings today, no real news so far, may be under the Gunny Bob program, started about 8;35, after the ballgame.

They are still looking for the bomb and another suspect [possible]

Still no ID of killer.......

granny]

This is a police , report from the east coast, it caught my eye, it gives an idea on the mental frame for the teens.

Note the stolen Id and a stolen credit card:

http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17242940&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6

09/25/2006
Monday crime log

The following list includes reports from the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Midland Police Department.

Advertisement
Click Here!

Monday, Sept. 25

1:49 a.m. -- A Midland woman, 17, was arrested for assaulting her mother, age 49, and resisting arrest at an Ashman Street home.

Sunday, Sept. 24

2:01 a.m. -- A deputy assisted Midland Police with a fight involving five females at a gas station. The suspects left before officials arrived.

9:55 a.m. -- Two mailboxes in Mount Haley Township were damaged when a vehicle left the roadway.

11:49 a.m. -- A 17-year-old Midland County Jail inmate reported a 39-year-old inmate assaulted him inside his cell.

5:08 p.m. -- A Hurricane Katrina donation box with an estimated $50 in coins inside was stolen off a counter at Owens Airport Grocery, 1708 Ashman St.

5:12 p.m. -- A license plate was stolen from a Mercury while it was parked at a West Union Street home.

6:16 p.m. -- Gasoline, valued at $30, was stolen from a Coleman gas station.

7:13 p.m. -- A $75 dog was stolen from a Lee Township home.

7:19 p.m. -- Deputies were sent to Lee Township for a fight between two girls, ages 16 and 17. The girls' families opted to resolve the problem themselves.

8:15 p.m. -- A Jerome Township man, 34, was arrested in that township for driving while his license was suspended.

10:48 p.m. -- A Lee Township man, 42, was arrested for domestic assault, drunken driving and possession of marijuana after deputies were called to a Lee Township home for the assault.

Saturday, Sept. 23

8:54 a.m. -- A deputy was sent to an Edenville Township home for a report of child abuse.

10:24 a.m. -- A $50 bicycle was reported stolen from an Eastman Avenue apartment after the owner, a 29-year-old Midland man, called police when he saw another person riding it near the Midland Mall, 6800 Eastman Ave.

10:28 a.m. -- A $40 hunting blind was stolen from Porter Township land after the gate to the property was cut.

11:25 a.m. -- A 40-year-old woman was arrested in Lee Township for driving while her license was suspended and on a warrant, as well as ticketed for improper plate and driving without insurance.

2:26 p.m. -- A business owner reported a lock on a Sanford storage unit was damaged.

3:17 p.m. -- A Midland Township man, 46, was arrested for possession of a firearm while he was intoxicated, and was taken to the hospital for an unrelated medical problem.

3:22 p.m. -- A Mount Pleasant man, 43, was ticketed at Isabella Street and Currie Parkway for improper plates.

Friday, Sept. 22

2:25 a.m. -- A Midland man, 21, was arrested in Homer Township for drunken driving.

7:09 a.m. -- A deputy was called to a North Jefferson Road home to assist parents with their 17-year-old daughter who was arguing with them.

4:35 p.m. -- A Shepherd woman, 38, was arrested at Isabella Street and Sandow Road for driving while her license was suspended.

4:44 p.m. -- A Clarkston man, 45, was arrested at M-20 and Vance Road for driving while his license was suspended and ticketed for no proof of insurance.

5:52 p.m. -- Electrical equipment inside a boat was damaged when someone pulled a plug from the craft while it was in the water at a North Lakeview Road address.

8:25 p.m. -- A Bay City man, 39, was arrested at West Buttles and Gordon streets for driving while his license was suspended.

9:07 p.m. -- A Midland man, 45, was arrested at Eastman Avenue and West St. Andrews Road for driving while his license was suspended.

9:30 p.m. -- A passport and birth certificate were stolen from an unlocked Saturn while it was parked at Glen's Market, 2026 N. Saginaw Road.

Thursday, Sept. 21

1:21 p.m. -- A purse with three prescription medications inside, total value of $70, was stolen from the office of John E. Vargas D.O., 901 E. Indian St.

2:27 p.m. -- A Midland man, 85, reported he received a collections notice for $500 in credit card purchases that he did not make.

Click Here!
©Midland Daily News 2006

[Poor baby, prayers are needed]

http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17251924&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6

09/27/2006
'He's not giving up'

Angela E. Lackey

Anne Garza gently strokes her adopted son Gavin's head as he sleeps while receiving a platelet transfusion Monday evening. "It weighs heavily on me. In the beginning I became the strong one of the family. It's not anything I can change or anything I can fix so I just try and get him through each day and be as normal as possible," Garza said of Gavin, 3, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in April 2005.
Midland family deals with incurable childhood cancer
Gavin Garza is a typical 3-year-old in many ways. He likes dinosaurs, macaroni and cheese and SpongeBob. He often races around the house, climbs on his mom’s back and fights with his two brothers.

He also is very sick with neuroblastoma, an incurable form of cancer.

Anne and Roland Garza of Midland have dealt with a lot in the past few years. Gavin and Kole, 6 months old, are biological brothers, and Jordan, 5, is their cousin. Because of family circumstances, Jordan and Gavin were adopted by the Garzas, and Kole is in the process of being adopted. The Garzas have had Gavin since he was 7 months old.

All that and then Gavin got sick.

The Garzas spent a month going back and forth to the pediatrician, desperately trying to find out what was wrong with their middle son. Gavin sensed something was wrong with him.

"The thing that got to me is he started telling me he loved me," Anne said.

There were different diagnoses – a cold, Fifth’s disease, a fever of unknown origin. Then the doctor felt a mass in Gavin.
Gavin was tested for mononucleosis. Next the doctor thought Gavin had an enlarged pancreas. He was scheduled for an ultrasound.

Anne’s niece was watching the children and was the one who took Gavin to the radiologist, who said to get Gavin to his pediatrician right away.

Gavin was diagnosed April 22, 2005 with stage 4 neuroblastoma.

"Which means his whole body was infected," Roland said.
"There’s no cure for neuroblastoma," Anne said. The cancer was in many places of Gavin’s body, including the left kidney and the adrenal gland.

"It explodes too," Anne continued, describing the disease as having tentacles. "By the time we detected it, it was in both shoulders, the femur and both hips. It was wall to wall through his bone marrow."

Gavin’s death seemed imminent. Anne was called at work, and she was told to take him to the University of Michigan Hospitals. The Garzas’ pastor was called and he baptized Gavin at 3:30 p.m.

"Shock," Roland said he felt. "You stay shocked."
"I was in a state of shock for a couple of weeks," Anne said. "Everyone started freaking out. I stayed calm."

Gavin underwent six rounds of chemotherapy during the next couple of months. His initial stay in the hospital was 10 days. Anne stayed in the room with him the entire time. Roland traveled back and forth for work.

"My niece Lindsey took the bull by the horns and helped with Jordan," Roland said.

While Gavin was sick, Anne almost lost her job in Saginaw. Things were shaky with both their employers for a while, and Anne now is a full-time stay-at-homemother.

Gavin had the tumor removed and was given his own bone marrow for treatment. Then he had 12 rounds of radiation.

"He acted like a trouper," Roland said. "It was rough on him but he did real well."

Anne remembers some rough moments.

"He would growl at everybody," she said. "(But) he’s tough. He’s a tough kid."

Gavin’s kidney also was removed. He was scanned in February and everything was clear.

He relapsed on May 26. By mid-June, he had stopped urinating and was in a lot of pain. He was taken to the University of Michigan Hospitals emergency room, where he was put into intensive care.

During a two-week period, his tumor grew and he started going into kidney failure.

"We started a new regimen of chemotherapy," Anne said. "This new chemo was easy, except we had a hard time holding platelets."

Gavin underwent MIBG therapy. Anne called it a form of radiation that is "100 times stronger" than regular radiation.

The radiation is injected into the blood and attaches to radioisotopes.

His initial prognosis was a 25 percent chance to get through treatment. This was increased to a 45 percent survival rate. His prognosis is now a 10 to 20 percent survival rate because of his relapse.

There is one bag of stem cells left if the MIBG doesn’t work. The doctor said there also are other options.

Gavin lost 10 pounds when he was diagnosed. He has struggled over the last year. He has preschool Tuesdays and Thursdays, but he’s missed some days, because he has had to go to U-M Hospitals every Thursday.

His illness has affected the whole family. Jordan is angry and has started counseling.

"Jordan gets royally shafted. Gavin has Mama all the time, and Dad gets home late," Anne said.

"We don’t get to spend a lot of time with him," Roland said. "Now we have another little one."

"(Jordan’s) started saying he wants to be a baby," Anne said. "Jordan feels left out.

"He’s understandably angry. We’re very open with what’s happening," she continued, referring to Gavin’s illness.

It’s Sept. 15 and things were quiet at the Garza house. Jordan was at school, and Kole was sleeping. Gavin was snuggled on the couch under some blankets,

watching "SpongeBob SquarePants." Mom was all his for the moment.

"The doctor said he was doing well," Anne said.

Last week was rough. They went to Ann Arbor, not coming home for several days. Gavin spiked a fever of 103, and his heart rate shot up to 168 beats per minute. He was on three antibiotics, Vicodin and Tylenol. Strangely, his white blood cell counts were still fine.

"It just finally broke and went away," Anne said of the fever.

Gavin goes through twice-weekly lab appointments at MidMichigan Medical Center. Anne said about three tubes are drawn each time. He laughed at SpongeBob as she talked.

It was hard to tell Gavin’s sick this afternoon. He jumped on his mom’s back, playing scary monster. He was full of energy.

Now it’s Tuesday night, about two weeks later, and Gavin is back in U-M. Anne said he was in a "lot of pain" and his pain medications were not helping.

"We’re trying mainly to get the pain under control," she said from the hospital.

Gavin is supposed to have a series of scans, including a MRI, PET and CAT, plus a biopsy and bone marrow test in October. Now they’re trying to move the scans up.

"The doctor warned the scans might be kind of ugly," Anne said.

As she sat by her son’s bed, Anne talked about what she loves about Gavin – his energy, his precociousness and how he takes everything in stride.

"He’s not giving up," she said.

And neither is she. When Gavin was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, people were upset and crying.

"I said you have to have faith," Anne said. "You have to keep praying."

http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/mm/Thursday/Frontpage/20060928103236/Article/index_html

'High' way to hell
By Najiah Najib

28 September, 2006

THEY committed crimes beyond one’s imagination. Some killed their own mothers and siblings. They are controlled by drugs called syabu and Ecstasy.

The Malay Mail spoke to two ex-drug addicts to find out what drives youths to drugs.

* SAKINAH (not her real name), 22, student, Kuala Lumpur:

It was the eve of her 21st birthday and of all places, she was at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

Sakinah was slipping in and out of consciousness in the intensive care unit.

She overdosed on Ecstasy.

Sakinah was still hallucinating when her friends rushed her to the hospital’s emergency section at 8am last December.

The night before, she partied with her friends at a popular nightclub. There, she ‘popped’ a pill and danced non-stop for three hours until the music stopped.

“It was the first time I popped the pill. It was Speed and it made me feel very energetic. I had a lot of fun at the club.

“We were on our way back to a friend’s apartment for an ‘after party session’ where I took a second pill, a Smack.

She explained there were generally two types of Ecstasy pills: Speed, which makes a person feel energetic; and Smack, which makes a person feel mellow, sensitive and affectionate.

“I popped the pill in the car. I was still sober when we arrived at my friend’s place in Damansara.

“There were six of us watching television in the living room when the effect of the second pill kicked in.

“I felt a stabbing pain at the back of my head. It wasn’t pounding like a migraine, but more like a strong magnet pull. The pain was unbearable, I vomited on the sofa I was sitting on. My friends took me to the bathroom where I puked into the bowl for an hour.

“I could not remember much that night. My memory shut down when I was on the sofa. I didn’t even realise my friends put me under the shower.”

At the emergency room, Sakinah’s family were anxiously pacing the corridors, praying for her to regain consciousness.

They were well aware that not all overdose victims make it through.

Sakinah, who is the youngest in her family, said: “I know I’ve hurt my family deeply. I have disappointed them, especially my parents.

“All these while, they gave me the freedom I needed and allowed me to make my own decisions and I abused that privilege.

“Then again, I believe everything happens for a reason. I believe God had wanted me to learn the hard way, and I have decided to not waste the second chance I was given. Since then, I haven’t taken drugs and I don’t intend to.”

* BEN (not his real name), 26, market researcher, Subang Jaya:

Ben first took drugs when he was studying in the US six years ago.

He did it because the people he trusted were doing it.

“Here, I grew up watching advertisements that said Dadah Membunuh (drug kills), but I never knew what drugs were or what it did.

“So when a trusted friend offered some marijuana, I didn’t hesitate.”

Ben said he smoked marijuana for eight months before he tried cocaine.

“One day, a friend whom I was having a sexual relationship with came by my apartment with some cocaine. He came over again the next day, and the day after until cocaine and sex became a routine.”

At that point, the danger of cocaine did not cross Ben’s mind.

“Like me, my friend was a student. When he walked around campus, nobody looked at him differently. I had the reassurance I needed,” said Ben.

A couple of months later, Ben was introduced to Ecstasy by another friend. After his first experience with Ecstasy, he stopped snorting cocaine and started popping pills everyday for two weeks.

“At one point I got so high, I gave US$1,500 (RM5,700) to a friend who said she was going to do her ‘run’ (drug purchase),” he said.

“I told her to buy some cocaine, a bunch of Ecstasy pills and whatever other substances she could get. She promised to return within the next couple of days. I should have known better.”

Ben said he went haywire when his friend disappeared. Desperate, he called up everyone he knew, asking them if they had any drugs to offer.

He managed to score a tiny glass bottle of acid (lysergic acid diethylamide, also known as LSD) for US$70 (RM266).

He drank a little over half before hanging out at another friend’s place.

There, Ben began to hallucinate.

“I saw little people coming out from underneath the carpet. The vacuum cleaner was talking.

“I was in my own digital, animation world where nothing made sense but everything was surreal.”

Ben’s friends thought it was amusing until he suddenly collapsed. Foam and blood were coming out from his mouth.

Upon arrival at the hospital, Ben had a heart attack. Doctors had to revive him with electrical shocks, twice within 10 hours.

Ben has been clean for two years after being admitted to a detoxification centre in the US.

“I regret the amount of money I spent, the time I wasted, and the relationships I destroyed simply because others were concerned about me,” he said.

“I cannot bring myself to look at people in the eye anymore. Every time I say something, I don’t expect people to take me seriously. Especially people who knew what had happened to me.

“How can anyone trust a junkie, or an ex-junkie, for that matter?”
Copyright © 2006 The Malay Mail Online. All rights reserved.

Terrorism is praiseworthy

http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1877331,00.html

'Martyrdom is praiseworthy'

Vikram Dodd Thursday September 21, 2006

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

The Guardian

The men who barracked John Reid yesterday are leading Islamist radicals in Britain who have come to the attention of police on several occasions.

Abu Izzadeen, the first to clash with the home secretary, attracted opprobrium and headlines when he refused to condemn the July 7 attacks on London.

He has admitted attending camps in Britain and abroad to receive military training.

Mr Izzadeen was spokesman for al-Ghurabaa, which its leaders now claim is disbanded. It was one of several successor groups to al-Muhajiroun, and both were believed to have been led by the extremist Omar Bakri Mohammed.

Both groups are now banned.

He told the BBC that the tube bombings had been "mujahideen activity" which would make people "wake up and smell the coffee". He said: "What I would say about those who do suicide operations or martyrdom operations is they're completely praiseworthy. I have no allegiance to the Queen whatsoever or to British society."

Mr Izzadeen, 30, is also known as Omar Brooks and converted to Islam aged 17. His comments on the July 7 attacks led to the possibility of treason charges being brought against him, though officials say no decision has yet been made.

Mr Reid was also barracked by Anjem Choudary, who was a spokesman for Omar Bakri's organisations. He now says he does not belong to any group, but lectures at the London-based School of Sharia. At a protest outside the Danish embassy in London earlier this year, he said: "The fact is that 7/7 was brought upon the people of London and Britain by the foreign policy of Tony Blair.

There is no reason why there should not be more suicide bombings in London."

http://islamic-danger.blogspot.com/2006/09/internet-jihadis-to-nuke-usa-or-not-to.html

Islamic Danger

Islam imposes a threat to the whole world which is far worse than deforestation, nuclear destruction or AIDS. It is an insidious, devilish disease creeping into the veins of the world. Every individual must realise the destructive and evil nature of this religion, for it eats away at the very foundation of humanity which is an individual's ability to think individually and act accordingly. http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate/
Contributors

* urbanadder22
* doublecorona

Recent Posts

* TO FIGHT OR NOT TO FIG...
* UNDERSTANDING ISLAM Why it is What it is purlo...
* IS WHAT WE SEE EVERY DAY ON THE NEWS NOT THE REAL...
* Islam is not like other religions The simple fac...
* DON'T TREAD ON ME!* One answer to jihad ...
* THIS IS WHAT YOU FIND WHEN YOU GO ROOTIN' AROUND ...
* Making the World Safe for … Islamic Extremism? Co...
* "THE SWEET SOUND OF TOPPLING MINARETS, THE SOUL-CA...
* IS IT TOO LATE? (The second question I posed u...
* Is all Lost? Remember (but perhaps not, why shoul...

Powered by Blogger
Saturday, September 23, 2006

Internet Jihadis: "To nuke the USA or not to nuke the USA, that is the question"

[Note: this heading was published 12 days before our TO FIGHT OR NOT TO FIGHT http://islamic-danger.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-fight-or-not-to-fight.html
So, they used William Shakespeare's line before we did--
but more importantly: who's thinking "nukes" more? And who brought it up earlier? ]

From Internet Haganah
http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/005724.html
20 September 2006

To nuke the USA or not to nuke the USA, that is the question
[Note the the title again. We only echoed this theme--without realizing it had already been on the jihadi internet sites]

Via Abdul Hameed Bakier at jamestown.org:
http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370131

Recent reports indicating al-Qaeda's preparations for a nuclear attack in the United States by al-Qaeda's alleged nuclear expert, Adnan El-Shukrijumah, has prompted conflicting reactions among Islamists in the jihadi forums...

The report cites the following sources:
• http://www.muslm.net/vb/showthread.php? t=180439
• http://www.shooqonline.com/ib/lofiversion/index.php/t16632.html
• http://www.muslm.net/vb/showthread.php?t=180439
• http://www.hanein.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=13689
Posted on 20 September 2006 @ 04:52
http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/005724.html

Internet Jihadis React to Alleged Nuclear Plot on the United States
By Abdul Hameed Bakier

Recent reports indicating al-Qaeda's preparations for a nuclear attack in the United States by al-Qaeda's alleged nuclear expert, Adnan El-Shukrijumah, has prompted conflicting reactions among Islamists in the jihadi forums (Terrorism Focus, September 12; al-Arabiya, September 11). The jihadi forums described the possible nuclear attack, and they also discussed a separate plan by al-Qaeda to attack coalition forces in Afghanistan with 300 suicide bombers. This latter plan was labeled The Ramadan Invasion, a reference to Prophet Muhammad's first war with infidels that was called the Badr invasion that took place in the month of Ramadan. With regard to the nuclear plot, the debate revolved around whether Islam justifies killing innocent people with weapons of mass destruction. Other forums hailed the news of the possible nuclear attack by saying that "this is a good omen for all lovers of jihad" [1].
[emphasis mine lw]

Proponents of a nuclear attack on the United States reason that American civilians are not innocent bystanders. According to this view, American citizens are as guilty as the political and military leaders they freely elected who make the decisions to kill Muslims. The citizens are taxpayers, and the leaders use their tax money to implement anti-Muslim policies. They further justify mass killings by saying that "even though [American civilians] are not armed militants, they fund the militants and corroborate government actions." Another forum participant, nicknamed Mohannad Net, says that "we are longing for such an attack to break the back of the American camel...I pray to God that this plan does exist and will be implemented" [2]. The strongest argument comes from a participant with the nickname Sendbad Elmassery who refutes the notion that nuclear weapons are banned, quoting a verse from the Holy Quran that reads, "If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted" [3].

The proponents who reason against a nuclear attack on the United States argue that Islam and the Prophet Muhammad forbade the killing of unarmed civilians, the elderly, women and children. They reiterate that the killing of innocent Muslims by the United States does not justify killing their civilians even if they are infidels, Jews or Christians. They add, "our religion calls for forgiveness and mercy, not random killing. Therefore, such an operation will distort Islam and true Jihad. We must not burden Islam with the guilt of using nuclear weapons. It is better to be martyrs than mass butchers" [4]. A participant, nicknamed Abdullah 28, refutes Sendbad Elmassery's Quranic justification of a nuclear attack by posting the full verse that reads, "If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted. But if ye endure patiently, verily it is better for the patient" [5].

In between these two perspectives, there is a third party that believes that the nuclear attack is a conspiracy organized by Israel and directed by the United States [6]. They argue that the September 11 attacks were carried out without anyone uncovering the plot prior to perpetration. In this case, however, the nuclear plot has already been revealed, which would not have happened if it were a true plot organized by al-Qaeda.

Notes

1. http://www.muslm.net/vb/showthread.php? t=180439.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. http://www.shooqonline.com/ib/lofiversion/index.php/t16632.html.
5. http://www.muslm.net/vb/showthread.php?t=180439.
6. http://www.hanein.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=13689

posted by urbanadder22 | 11:14 AM
0 Comments:

http://islamic-danger.blogspot.com/2006/09/global-strategic-thought-islamic.html

Islamic Danger

Islam imposes a threat to the whole world which is far worse than deforestation, nuclear destruction or AIDS. It is an insidious, devilish disease creeping into the veins of the world. Every individual must realise the destructive and evil nature of this religion, for it eats away at the very foundation of humanity which is an individual's ability to think individually and act accordingly. http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate/
Contributors

* urbanadder22
* doublecorona

Recent Posts

* Internet Jihadis: "To nuke the USA or not to nuke ...
* TO FIGHT OR NOT TO FIG...
* UNDERSTANDING ISLAM Why it is What it is purlo...
* IS WHAT WE SEE EVERY DAY ON THE NEWS NOT THE REAL...
* Islam is not like other religions The simple fac...
* DON'T TREAD ON ME!* One answer to jihad ...
* THIS IS WHAT YOU FIND WHEN YOU GO ROOTIN' AROUND ...
* Making the World Safe for … Islamic Extremism? Co...
* "THE SWEET SOUND OF TOPPLING MINARETS, THE SOUL-CA...
* IS IT TOO LATE? (The second question I posed u...

Powered by Blogger
Saturday, September 23, 2006

GLOBAL STRATEGIC THOUGHT

The Islamic Influx on the Continents

(a quick and incomplete survey)

Assume that Europe goes, becomes Islamic-ruled (we hope not, but in this analysis, we must assume unpalatable assumptions), Ok, we have an Islamic Europe, Asia has just more or less (we can hope less) an iffy situation in Thailand, there is India, a weak, Moslem-catering government (I know there are sooo many Moslems in India, it would be difficult to do the unthinkable with them).

So, we have India (sort of), the Philipines (under attack by Moros in the South), then there is Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, China and Japan. The last-named is not Islamic; neither is China nor the others. So we have some non-Islamic holdouts in Asia.

Australia is putting up a valiant struggle to contain its Islamic population, ditto New Zealand. Africa, vow that's a tough one. It's being chewed on by Islam wherever there is no Islamic government.

Now, comes my reason for engaging in this analysis:Latin America.

Here, we must hold off the Islamic onslaught. There is a significant Islamic presence on the southern American continent as well as in Meso-America.

As the main idea is to conserve the Americas and make them as Moslem-free as we can, we must concentrate on Central and South America.

The problem areas are easily identified: Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, and Brazil also is not safe for us. Argentina--a maybe. The rest of Latin America appears shaky.

I do not have an intelligence apparatus to keep me abreast of Islamic penetration into Latin America. Therefore, I am hoping somebody does, and is making plans how to counteract it.

One can hope, can't one?

We trust that there are global strategic thinkers engaged in this type of analysis right now. If there are not . . .

posted by urbanadder22 | 11:46 AM

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.