As does Obama, who is about to visit Cuba<<<
They are willing to show the muslim/communist connection, it is no longer hidden.
Will Obama join Kennedy, on his visit to the kgb/putin?
Update: Suspicious ME Males at Ferry - Washington State
Thanks to Rushmore Rocks and Milford421 for this alert:
This article has a few more (scant) details:
SEATTLE — The FBI is asking for the public’s help identifying two men
who they say have been exhibiting unusual behavior on Washington state
ferries. FBI spokeswoman Robbie Burroughs said the men have been
reported by by passengers on several ferry runs and, while the
behavior may have been innocuous, investigators would like to talk to
the men.
Burroughs said the men appeared to be taking an unusual interest in
the workings of the boat, but she would not elaborate. Passengers and
crew members on different runs on separate dates reported the men to
authorities. Investigators would not disclose on which ferry runs the
men were seen. Anyone with information about the men is asked to call
the FBI’s Seattle office at 206-622-0460.
http://www.komotv.com/news/9270846.html
http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?fr=yalerts-keyword&c=&p=%22Iran%22&ei=utf-8
38 News Videos
* 1.
Iran denies Guards’ involvement in Iraq
Iran denies Guards’ involvement in Iraq Open this result in new window
AFP via Yahoo! News - Aug 20 1:00 PM
Iran denied on Monday US accusations that a unit of its Revolutionary Guards, the Quds Force, was working inside Iraq to foment more unrest in its conflict-torn neighbour.
* 2.
Iran wants IAEA to highlight atomic cooperation
Iran wants IAEA to highlight atomic cooperation Open this result in new window
Reuters via Yahoo! News - Aug 20 11:41 AM
Iran expects the U.N. nuclear watchdog to highlight Tehran’s cooperation in its next report on Iran’s atomic program, which could determine whether it faces more U.N. sanctions, an Iranian official said on Monday.
* 3.
Iran warns against further nuclear sanctions
Iran warns against further nuclear sanctions Open this result in new window
AFP via Yahoo! News - Aug 20 12:16 PM
Iran warned the UN Security Council on Monday against imposing new sanctions over its nuclear drive, saying such a move would render its cooperation with the UN atomic agency and other talks “sterile”.
* 4.
Top IAEA official in Iran for nuclear talks
Top IAEA official in Iran for nuclear talks Open this result in new window
AFP via Yahoo! News - Aug 20 6:27 AM
A top UN atomic official was holding talks in Tehran on Monday aimed at easing concerns over Iran’s contested nuclear programme, amid warnings of further sanctions against the Islamic republic.
* 5.
Khomeini wanted to drop ‘Death to America’: Iran ex-president
Khomeini wanted to drop ‘Death to America’: Iran ex-president Open this result in new window
AFP via Yahoo! News - Aug 20 6:14 AM
Iran’s ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has aroused controversy after saying in a new book that revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini favoured dropping the mantra of “Death to America.”
* 6.
Iran’s Ambitions Spark Fears in the Muslim World Open this result in new window
NPR - Aug 20 11:06 AM
As Iran strengthens its military and political muscle, the nation’s leaders seek to increase its influence over the Middle East. But Iran’s ambitious talk of revolution worries its Arab neighbors.
* 7.
Quake hits northeastern Iran Open this result in new window
Islamic Republic News Agency - 2 hours, 19 minutes ago
Iran - Quake - North An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale jolted suburbs of ‘Bazar-Jomeh’ town in Gilan province, northern Iran, Monday evening.
* 8.
Too Little, Too Late On Iran? Open this result in new window
CBS News - Aug 20 9:00 AM
Putting Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on a list of terrorist organizations is the right move, says National Review Online , but the action still fails to acknowledge Tehran’s role in sponsoring terrorism around the globe.
* 9.
City Council Targets Iran Divestment Open this result in new window
The New York Sun - 2 hours, 5 minutes ago
Companies that invest in Iran’s energy sector stand to lose billions in investments from pension funds if a divestment call from the City Council is heeded. A resolution scheduled to be introduced to the council tomorrow calls for the city and state pension fund boards to divest from companies that invest in Iran’s energy sector. “The Iranian government has been complicit in putting American ...
* 10.
Iran wants IAEA to highlight atomic cooperation Open this result in new window
IranMania.com - 22 minutes ago
LONDON, August 21 (IranMania) - Iran expects the UN nuclear watchdog to highlight Tehran’s cooperation in its next report on Iran’s atomic program, which could determine whether it faces more UN sanctions, an Iranian official said, Reuters reported.
[check page 2 for a trial that ended]
* 1.
As Peter Pan returns, will buyers stick by it? Open this result in new window
Dallas Morning News - Aug 20 5:49 AM
ATLANTA – Peanut butter put Linda Moore of Dalton, Ga., in the hospital for three days in March, an unsettling experience she swears will keep her from ever eating it again.
* 2.
QLogic SANbox 9000 Director and SANbox 5600 Stackable Switch Certified With IBM SAN Volume Controller Open this result in new window
PrimeNewswire via Yahoo! Finance - Aug 20 5:00 AM
ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Aug. 20, 2007 — QLogic Corp. , a leader in networking for storage and high performance computing, today announced its enterprise class SANbox 9000 Series Fibre Channel director switches and SANbox 5600 Fibre Channel stackable switches have been certified with IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller.
* 3.
Peter Pan hopes image will fly again Open this result in new window
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Aug 17 11:14 PM
Peanut butter put Linda Moore of Dalton in the hospital for three days in March, an unsettling experience she swears will keep her from ever eating it again. Pat Allen of Fayetteville doesn’t buy peanut butter anymore either, but only because she hasn’t been able to purchase her favorite brand since February. Between those two camps lie millions of other customers, ones that ConAgra Foods hopes ...
* 4.
Sticky situation: Will Peter Pan lovers return? Open this result in new window
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Aug 17 3:50 PM
Peanut butter put Linda Moore of Dalton in the hospital for three days in March, an unsettling experience she swears will keep her from ever eating it again. [ Submit your comments below. ] Pat Allen of Fayetteville doesn’t buy peanut butter anymore either, but only because she hasn’t been able to purchase her favorite brand since February. Between those two camps lie millions of other customers, ...
* 5.
Biotech; Mad or Bad? Open this result in new window
Australasian Investment Review via Yahoo!7 Finance - Aug 16 3:25 PM
Perhaps the first time the world realised that the stuff of science fiction had a human dimension with genuine possibilities was in January 1998 when a Chicago physicist, Dr Richard Seed announced that he would clone a human being.
* 6.
Toy Industry Crisis Likely To Grow, Says Brian Dobson of DobsonPR.com; Adds Regulatory Pressures, Consumer Skepticism ... Open this result in new window
PRWeb - Aug 15 12:41 AM
“Crisis begets crisis,” says Brian Dobson, whose www.DobsonPR.com has handled crisis communications, brand building and marketing PR for a variety of companies and industries. Mattel focused attention on an industry weakness in quality control and if news patterns follow suit, coverage is likely to spread throughout the toy industry with other toys examined, regulatory review notched up and ...
* 7.
AbsoluteSKY Updates Shareholders On Company Activities Open this result in new window
PrimeNewswire via Yahoo! Finance - Aug 14 7:30 AM
MONTREAL, Aug. 14, 2007 — AbsoluteSKY, Inc. , developer of the intelliTRACKER RFID-based product suite, provided status to shareholders today. The activity update comes in the wake of launch installations of its real-time inventory tracking system at key early-adopter sites earlier this Spring — notably one with Staples Business Depot, the world’s largest office products company, who ...
* 8.
1st Options Trial Ends In Guilty Verdict Open this result in new window
Washington Post - Aug 07 9:20 PM
A San Francisco jury yesterday convicted the former chief executive of Brocade Communications Systems on fraud and conspiracy charges, giving the government its first guilty verdict in a widespread scandal over tampering with stock option awards.
* 9.
Company computers scanned in Boka probe Open this result in new window
The Globe and Mail - Aug 10 3:02 AM
Southwestern Resources Corp.’s investigation into tainted drilling results from a gold project in China has been widened to include a forensic audit of computers at the junior miner’s Canadian headquarters, suggesting data manipulation could be a key element of the escalating scandal.
* 10.
First Minister demands end to remote control of television Open this result in new window
The Scotsman - Aug 08 5:24 PM
ALEX Salmond launched his first major campaign to secure more power for the Scottish Parliament yesterday, unveiling a long-term strategy that he hopes will see control of broadcasting handed over to Holyrood.
[update]
http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-trw-laxdelays15aug15
LAX outage is blamed on a single computer
City officials demand a full report on the U.S. Customs system failure and contingency plans.
By Tami Abdollah, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 15, 2007
Justin Ryan Green, 20, of 128 Pineview Lane, New Ringgold, was charged by Patrolman Chad Seitzinger, St. Clair police, with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, receiving stolen property, terroristic threats, two counts of simple assault and three counts of recklessly endangering another person.
Jennifer Nicole Cougle, 36, St. Clair, was charged by Chief Timothy Delaney, Coaldale police, with theft of stainless steel shafts from the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, Coaldale, valued at $75,000; criminal conspiracy, giving false information to police and defiant trespass.
http://www.tnonline.com/taxonomy/term/1837
From the arrest page, no other details......
http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20070821/API/708210532
August 21. 2007 1:06AM
U.S. Deports Sanctuary Movement’s Symbol
By ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press Writer
Picture
Elvira Arellano, left, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who has taken refuge in a Chicago church to avoid deportation for the last year, answers reporters’ questions as her 8-year-old son Saul sits at the table with others involved in the sanctuary movement at Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles church in Los Angeles Saturday, Aug. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Purchase this photo Zoom
Advertisement
TIJUANA, Mexico An illegal immigrant who took refuge in a Chicago church for a year to avoid being separated from her American-born son was deported from the United States to Mexico, where she vowed Monday to continue her campaign to change U.S. immigration laws.
Elvira Arellano, 32, became an activist and a national symbol for illegal immigrant parents as she defied her deportation order and spoke out from her sanctuary. She announced last week that she was leaving the Adalberto United Methodist Church to try to lobby U.S. lawmakers.........
continued...............below is what gave me second thoughts.
granny............
Arellano said she may return to her home in the Mexican state of Michoacan and then return to Tijuana in September for a demonstration coinciding with planned immigration protests in the United States.
[snipped]
Arellano arrived in Washington state illegally in 1997. She was soon deported to Mexico, but returned and moved to Illinois in 2000, taking a job cleaning planes at O’Hare International Airport.
She was arrested in 2002 at O’Hare and convicted of working under a false Social Security number. She was to surrender to authorities a year ago but instead sought refuge at the church on Aug. 15, 2006.
[snipped]
Thanks to Milford421 for this report:
Suspicious Device Found at Houston’s Intercontinental Airport
Suspicious Device Found at Houston’s Intercontinental Airport
Last Edited: Sunday, 19 Aug 2007, 7:51 PM CDT
Created: Monday, 20 Aug 2007, 6:57 AM CDT
Evacuations at Bush Airport / KRIV-TV Houston FOX 26 News
HOUSTON — Authorities are responding the scene of a bomb threat at
Houston’s Intercontinental Airport after a suspicious device was
found in a food preparation area.
A report says police received a call about 6:40 a.m. Monday about a
device with wires hanging out of it at Chelsea Food Services on the
grounds of the airport in north Houston.
Houston police were called in to handle crowd control as nearby
buildings were evacuated.
Stay with myFOXHouston.com for more on this developing story.
More evidence of the sun’s rythms found in the seismic activity of earth.
Ulysses solar orbiting spacecraft data finds rthym of the sun’s energy
in most terrestrial systems including seismology. Read below.
Electricquakes was right.
http://www.astronomyreport.com/Research/Moving_to_the_rhythm_of_the_Sun.asp
Astronomy Report .com
Moving to the rhythm of the Sun (8/20/2007)
This artist’s impression shows the ESA/NASA Ulysses spacecraft.
Launched in 1990, the European-built spacecraft visits both polar
regions once every 6.2 years as it circles the Sun in an orbit that is
almost perpendicular to the ecliptic, the plane in which Earth and the
planets move. - Credit: ESA Scientists from the Ulysses mission have
proven that sounds generated deep inside the Sun cause the Earth to
shake and vibrate in sympathy. They have found that Earth’s magnetic
field, atmosphere and terrestrial systems, all take part in this cosmic
sing-along.
David Thomson and Louis Lanzerotti are team members of the HISCALE
experiment on board Ulysses, a joint mission between ESA and NASA.
Together with colleagues Frank Vernon, Marc Lessard and Lindsay Smith,
they present evidence that proves that Earth moves to the rhythm of the
Sun. They show that distinct, isolated tones, predicted to be generated
by pressure and gravity waves in the Sun, manage to reach Earth and are
detectable in our environment.
Thomson and colleagues have discovered these tones in seismic data
and
have found them in Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere, and even in
voltages induced on ocean cables, along with a wide variety of
terrestrial systems. Although these tones are all around us, it would
not be possible for us to hear them, even if we listened very closely.
According to Thomson, data from Ulysses provided an important clue as
to how these sounds generated deep inside the Sun reach the Earth.
His team also present new evidence for these tones in various
terrestrial systems here on Earth. They also provide an explanation for
the mechanism by which these tones, originating from deep inside the
solar interior manage to make their way to Earth, and pervade our
environment.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by ESA
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www.ElectricQuakes.com daily solar and earthquake images.
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiasearthquakeforum/
Davey, you must post any googles you do on this list, I suggest you ignore the post, as it is toooo interesting....LOL
I did not find the links to the reports, need to look deeper.
granny.
Index of Declassified Book Reviews, By Author
AUTHOR OF BOOK REVIEWED : TITLE OF BOOK REVIEWED : ISSUE.....
LOL, about a hundred books listed.......
More declassified, muslim subjects in first link:
Declassified articles:
Start packing, we need to go to Washington D.C. to read them:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/index.html
Monday, August 20, 2007
Russia: Daghestan Scholars Sound Alarm For Indigenous Languages
By Liz Fuller
August 20, 2007 (RFE/RL) — Participants at a recent roundtable
discussion in Makhachkala expressed concern that Russian is fast
becoming the sole state language in Daghestan, even though the
republic’s constitution ranks Russian equal with the languages of 13
other nationalities. They called on President Mukhu Aliyev to take
urgent measures to reverse the ongoing decline of smaller languages,
some of which they fear may otherwise become extinct within 10-15
years.
Unique among Russia’s 85 federation subjects, Daghestan has no fewer
than 14 titular nationalities (Avars, Aghuls, Azerbaijanis, Dargins,
Kumyks, Laks, Lezgins, Nogais, Rutuls, Tabasarans, Tats, Tsakhurs,
Chechens, and Russians), all of whose languages are designated in the
constitution as state languages.
Given that these languages are all not mutually comprehensible or even
inter-related, it is Russian, which is taught even at kindergarten
level, that serves as the vehicle of communication between members of
different ethnic groups.
The director of a school in the village of Andikh in Shamil Raion in
west-central Daghestan, told RFE/RL that his school cannot buy new
textbooks for students in 10th and 11th grades, and that teachers comb
villages in the hope of buying old ones.
True, during the Soviet period, most of the titular languages — Avar,
Azeri, Dargin, Kumyk, Lak, Lezgin, Nogai, and Tat — were taught in
schools alongside Russian. And according to the British scholar Robert
Chenciner, in the 1990s it was decided to create written languages for,
and begin the formal teaching in schools of Rutul, Aghul, and Tsakhur
(all of which belong to the Lezgin group of languages), even though
according to the 2002 Russian Federation census those three ethnic
groups each accounted for less than 1 percent of the republic’s
population, numbering 24,298, 23,324 and 8,168 people, respectively.
Soviet Legacy
The Soviet Union took a dual and even contradictory approach to the
teaching of minority languages, promoting the creation of literary
languages for small ethnic groups, and encouraging writers who chose to
use their native language, however obscure, as part of the broader
ideology of Friendship of Peoples.
But at the same time, the Soviet leadership relentlessly implemented a
policy of requiring non-Russians to become fluent in Russian, to the
point that mastery of the Russian language became the key to career
advancement.
For that reason, many parents opted to enroll their children in schools
where Russian, rather than their native language, was the language of
instruction. Yet whether as a result of the emphasis on preserving
minority languages, or as a conscious statement of national identity,
many non-Russians still identified the language of their nationality as
their native language.
Data from the 1979 Soviet census show that more than 90 percent of
Daghestan’s 10 largest indigenous native groups designated the language
of that ethnic group as their native language. By contrast, the
percentage for the native peoples of Siberia and the Far East averaged
61 percent, and for some of those small ethnic groups it was as low as
30 percent.
No Money For Books
The collapse of the Soviet system demolished the ideological rationale
and the hothouse conditions, including generous state subsidies, that
existed for encouraging the use and teaching of small languages. At the
same time, a knowledge of Russian as lingua franca remained crucial,
especially within a multiethnic society such as Daghestan, where, in
addition, unemployment is high and competition for jobs intense.
Moreover, Daghestan’s government, which as of 2005 depended on
subsidies
from Moscow for 80 percent of its budget, was forced to revise spending
priorities, with education getting short shrift. This has led to
chronic
shortages of school textbooks in languages other than Russian.
Even the language of Daghestan’s largest ethnic group, the Avars (who
numbered 758,438 people in 2002, or 29.4 percent of the republic’s
population), is under threat, and has been for some time.
In 2002, a language teacher in Kaspiisk told RFE/RL’s North Caucasus
Service that several factors were contributing to the decline in the
use
of Avar: a lack of qualified teachers and up-to-date textbooks (not all
schools had an adequate number of textbooks, and the limited number
available were up to 20 years old); the lack of an up-to-date
Avar-Russian dictionary; and, crucially, lack of interest among school
students in studying their own native language. Some wealthy
businesspeople sponsored the publication of language textbooks, but
those textbooks were not always approved by and coordinated with the
republic’s Pedagogical Institute.
The situation does not seem to have improved greatly over the past five
years. In 2003, a new Avar-Russian dictionary was published, the first
for over 50 years, but native speakers say it is not of outstanding
quality, and the print run was only 3,000 copies.
And the problem of school textbooks remains acute. Magomed Gazaliyev,
the director of a school in the village of Andikh in Shamil Raion in
west-central Daghestan, told RFE/RL’s North Caucasus Service in July
that his school cannot buy new textbooks for students in 10th and 11th
grades, and that teachers comb villages in the hope of buying old ones.
“We have been without books for more than 10 years,” he said.
Gazaliyev said the republican Education Ministry claims it does not
have
sufficient funds to finance the publication of a new series of
textbooks. He said the ministry is apparently hoping that a private
sponsor might be found.
Study Time Reduced
Gazaliyev further complained that the number of hours devoted to the
study of Avar in schools is being reduced, but did not specify how
drastically. In rural schools, instruction in all subjects is in Avar
for the first four grades. From fifth to ninth grade, instruction is in
Russian, with two hours per week devoted to the Avar language and two
to
Avar literature. In 10th and 11th grades, two hours per week are
devoted
to the Avar language.
“They are reducing the time spent on teaching the native language and
literature and increasing the number of hours spent studying other
subjects at their expense,” Gazaliyev told RFE/RL.
Radio and television broadcasting in languages other than Russian has
also been subjected to cuts. Republican television now broadcasts
exclusively in Russian, although there are still daily radio programs
in
the 13 other titular languages, in addition to Russian. The number of
hours broadcast is directly proportional to the number of speakers of a
given language, with Avar and Dargin having the most and Tsakhur the
least.
All these factors serve to undermine many Avars’ commitment to their
native language. And the decline in the use of Avar is not confined to
urban areas with a multiethnic population, but extends to districts
where the population is almost exclusively Avar.
A correspondent for RFE/RL’s North Caucasus Service recently quoted
Bata
Aliyev, a resident of the village of Mesterukh in Akhvakh Raion, as
saying that with every year that passes, it becomes clearer that
members
of the local Avar population are losing respect for their native
language.
“The raion administration, the local education board, schools, and
local
television are contributing to the gradual decline of the Avar
language,
because the Russian language is used everywhere,” Aliyev said. “Very
little time is devoted to the study of the Avar language in school.”
The published summary of the July 12 roundtable discussion in
Makhachkala did not give any indication whether participants came to
the
conclusion that some languages are in greater danger of becoming
obsolescent than others, and if so, which.
The participants said much of the blame for the decline of Daghestan’s
indigenous languages lies with the Education Ministry. They
characterized many of the ministry’s staff members as having no
relevant
expertise and implied they are indifferent to the issue of teaching
small languages
They contrasted the situation in Daghestan, where high-school students
spend a maximum of four hours per week studying their native language,
literature, and history, with that in Kabardino-Balkaria, where the
comparable figure is 36 hours.
The roundtable participants appealed to Daghestan President Aliyev to
take urgent measures to reverse the decline in the use of small
languages. But even if the republic’s leadership could secure funds for
programs to promote the study of Avar and other state languages, it
could take years before such programs yielded the desired effect.
(Magomedgadzhi Gasanov and Uma Isakova of RFE/RL’s North Caucasus
Service contributed to this report.)
http://rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/08/dc81f4cf-0387-414c-9210-61a789a140ff.html
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/
Scruples Fade in Sri Lanka - Charu Lata Hogg, Boston Globe
In 1990, Mahinda Rajapaksa was arrested at Colombo airport trying to smuggle dossiers on the “disappeared” out of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva. Rajapaksa, a rising politician from the country’s south, worked to organize the mothers of the disappeared during an insurrection from 1988 to 1990, when more than 16,000 people went missing.
Today, Rajapaksa is Sri Lanka’s sixth president, leading a government accused of egregious human rights abuses. Since fighting between government forces and the Tamil Tigers resumed in full vigor in mid-2006, civilians have become the primary target — not just in direct clashes but in the insidious “dirty war” fought by both sides.
Human Rights Watch researchers spent months investigating abuse allegations, publishing a report this month that uses eyewitness accounts to show how security forces have subjected civilians to “disappearances,” indiscriminate attacks, forced displacement, and restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Critics of the government — as Rajapaksa was in the 1980s — have been threatened and demonized as national traitors and terrorist sympathizers.
http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2007/08/20-august-swj-oped-roundup/
Impending Volcanic Eruption Could Disrupt International Flight Paths
Seismic Activity High; Tremor A Minute Recorded
International flight paths over Alaska could soon be disrupted if
satellite
images, increasing seismic activity and lava are any indication.
Pictures taken of the Pavlof Volcano Thursday indicated strong thermal
readings. The Alaska Volcano Observatory is calling these readings
consistent with a “vigorous eruption of lava,” according to the
Associated
Press.
Seismic activity was first noticed Tuesday. Fishermen in the area
Wednesday
reported glowing lava on the mountain’s southeast side and pilots have
reported a weak plume of ash below 20,000 feet and drifting 5 miles to
the
southwest.
A massive eruption by the volcano located about 590 miles southwest of
Anchorage could disrupt air travel but isn’t expected to threaten any
towns
in the area, with the exception of a light dusting of ash.
Steve McNutt, a volcano seismologist with the Observatory said an
explosive
eruption could disrupt flight operations as volcanic ash can seize up
an
engine.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Allen Kenitzer said the
agency
issued advisories to airlines that could potentially be affected and it
is
monitoring the situation closely. Delays could occur if an eruption
causes
flight diversions.
The volcano is roughly nine miles from popular fishing area, Pavlof
Bay, but
isn’t believed to be an immediate threat, McNutt said.
Some of the seismic activity was caused by lahars, mudflows, caused by
snow
on the peak being melted by lava. They occurred on the southeast side
of the
volcano, an area that is sparsely inhabited.
Residents of the small towns in the vicinity are preparing for the
worst and
hoping for the best, said Josh Gould, owner of a grocery in King Cove,
about
35 miles to the southwest with a population of about 800. Basic staples
are
selling briskly and there’s no danger of running out of products like
water,
bread and milk.
An ash plume is visible from town, he said, but none has fallen yet.
Pavlof’s last eruption was in 1996, following a series of eruptions in
the
‘70s and ‘80s. The 11 years since has been the longest it has been
quiet,
McNutt said. It spewed ash as high as 49,000 feet during a 1986
eruption.
Seismic activity is high at the 8,262-foot volcano, with a tremor
recorded
every minute, McNutt said. “What we think we’re in for is several
months of
low-level eruptions punctuated by a few large and explosive events.”
FMI: www.avo.alaska.edu, www.faa.gov
aero-news.net
[update]
Preliminary Report Says Seatbelt Failure Caused Snowbird Accident
Pilot Was Inverted When Lap belt Released
A preliminary report on the cause of a Canadian Snowbird accident in
Montana
that claimed the life of its pilot said a seatbelt failure is to blame.
Capt. Shawn McCaughey was lost when his CT-114 Tutor jet crashed near a
Montana air force base during a show rehearsal May 18. The report,
released
Monday, said McCaughey lost control of the aircraft when his lap belt
unfastened while he was flying inverted.
“Initial analysis has determined that the pilot’s lap belt became
unfastened
when SB No. 2 rolled inverted, causing the pilot to fall out of his
seat and
lose control of the aircraft,” the report states.
The investigation is now focusing on why.
McCaughey, flying the No. 2 aircraft, off the lead’s left wing, was
apparently not able to eject and died on impact.
The maneuver the team was practicing at the time of the accident
required
the lead aircraft to fly upright across the show line flanked by
inverted
aircraft off each wing and one behind, according to the Toronto Star.
“As SB 2 was rolling inverted for the . . . pass, the aircraft was seen
to
dip low, waver, and then depart the formation,” the report said. “Still
inverted, the aircraft climbed, then subsequently rolled upright.
“Upon reaching a nearly wings-level attitude, at approximately 750 feet
above ground level, the aircraft nosed over.”
There have been some modifications made to the pilot restraint system
as
well as enhanced training for aircrews and passengers and changes to
the
aircraft operating instructions since the accident.
Since 1972, six Snowbird pilots have been lost in accidents. Many of
the
accidents have reportedly been caused by mechanical problems. Some are
saying the 1960s model Canadair CT-114 Tutors should just be retired
altogether, as their life expectancy is said to be 2010; Canada’s
National
Defense was told they should be replaced four years ago.
The team suspended performances for a month after the accident, and
when
they resumed dedicated the season to McCaughey (above).
A five-season veteran, Capt. Paul Couillard, has been named as the
replacement.
FMI: www.snowbirds.dnd.ca
aero-news.net
30 Tons of Jet Fuel Dumped on Italy
GENEVA (AP) - An Alitalia passenger flight dumped 33 tons of jet fuel
over
northwestern Italy on Saturday after technical problems prompted the
pilots
to turn back to Milan, air traffic controllers said Monday.
The aviation kerosene was released from the Chicago-bound Boeing 767
between
Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border and the city of Turin, said the
Swiss company Skyguide, which is responsible for monitoring the
airspace.
Skyguide said the fuel was dumped shortly after noon local time (1000
GMT)
Saturday to bring the plane’s weight below the maximum allowed for
landing.
The plane was traveling at 27,000 feet above sea level.
“After dumping the fuel, it landed safely back at Milan,” Skyguide said
on
its Web site.
Usually, fuel is dumped at high altitude so it will dissipate before
reaching the ground.
Skyguide did not say what the technical problems were.
unknown url, from newsletter.
Russia tightens air safety rules
Starting from August 27, Russia is introducing stricter security checks
before and after flights, along with new limits on the size and
contents of
hand luggage, bringing them in line with the latest rules on air
safety, and
to meet international requirements.
Under the new rules, each passenger can only have 100 milliliters of
any
liquid, gel or spray in a packet which is to be sealed within the
airport’s
sterile area and can only be re-opened on board. Any liquids bought in
duty-free stores also have to be sealed. Exceptions apply only to
medicines,
baby food and special dietary products.
Hand-luggage can also include one thermometer, one blood pressure
monitor, a
disposable lighter and up to two kilograms of artificial ice for
perishable
products.
“We are changing the rules to bring them in line with the latest rules
on
air safety and to meet the requirements introduced by the International
Civil Aviation Organisation. All our regulations regarding liquids,
gels,
and so on, literally repeat the instructions sent to us by the ICAO,”
Vladimir Chertok, air traffic official, said.
http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/12740
Qantas safety questioned
AN unqualified Qantas mechanical engineer signed off on the safety of
more
than 1000 international flights in the past year without having a
licence to
do so.
The “imposter”, based at Sydney international airport, is being
investigated
by the Australian Federal Police after allegedly forging his licensed
aircraft maintenance engineer’s licence without having passed the Civil
Aviation Safety Authority exams required.
The alleged fraudster has “given the thumbs-up” to more than four
international flights a day over the past year.
Irregularities with his licence were exposed during a routine checking
process last month, Qantas executive general manager of engineering
David
Cox said yesterday.
The man had been responsible for signing off on maintenance, which
allowed
aircraft to then be classified safe to fly.
When confronted by Qantas management the engineer tendered his
resignation
and is now alleged to have fled.
He contacted his union, the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers
Association, last week seeking help, but has not been heard from since.
ALAEA federal secretary Steve Purvinas said it was the responsibility
of
Qantas to check its employees were qualified to sign off on aircraft.
Qantas said yesterday the man was not only responsible for “certifying
for
the release of aircraft” but also authorised more junior, unlicensed
engineers to send aicraft on their way. Since discovering the man was
unlicensed, CASA and Qantas retraced the work he carried out and found
no
anomalies.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22279396-662,00.html
Death Toll from Suicide Bombings in NW Iraq Rises to 500 (back)
August 19, 2007
The death toll from four apparently coordinated suicide car bombings near Iraq ‘s northwestern town of Sinjar late Tuesday rose dramatically to 500, while 375 others injured, hospital official told Xinhua on Wednesday.
‘We have received 500 corpses and 375 others injured people,’ said Dr. Kifah Muhammad, the manager of the hospital in Sinjar, a town in western Nineveh province.
He added that the death toll could rise further as rescue workers continue to ferry the victims to the hospital.
The newly obtained figure from the hospital doubled the death toll Xinhua earlier got from a local police source, which said that 250 people were killed and 300 others injured.
Late Tuesday, four suicide car bombs, apparently targeting residents from Iraq ‘s Yazidi religious minority, ripped through Yazidi residential compounds in Kahtaniya and al-Jazeera near Sinjar.
The Yazidis are primarily ethnic Kurd and mostly live near Mosul ,capital of Nineveh province.
The coordinated attack on Tuesday recorded the deadliest incidents of its kind since the Iraq war broke out in 2003.
The last bloodiest attack took place on Nov. 23 of 2006, when a series of bombings and mortar rounds killed more than 200 people and injured more than 250 others in Baghdad ‘s Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City .
However, the U.S. military gave a lower death toll in a statement on Wednesday despite the lurid death toll from hospital.
The military said in the statement that some 60 Iraqi civilians were killed and an unknown number injured in the five car bombs in western Nineveh province, one more bomb than what the media reported.
Four car bombs struck Kahtaniya near the Sinjar region while another car bomb detonated in a residential area of al-Jazeera, southwest of Khahtaniya, it said.
So far, no any group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, many people blamed it on al-Qaida terrorists in Iraq , who were forced to leave Anbar and Diyala provinces amid a joint massive U.S.-Iraqi offensive against them and commenced staging attacks in other vulnerable areas, such as Sinjar.
Source: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6240572.html
RPG Discovery - Los Angeles Area (back)
August 18, 2007
by Cindy Santos and Kimerly Edds
NOTE: Article below of interest given known terrorist intentions to use RPGs to bring down civil aircraft (El Al in Geneva for one). Would be interesting to see how the stolen van was modified.
A military-style rocket-propelled grenade found in a customized van was disarmed and hauled off to the Orange County Sheriff’s headquarters in Santa Ana .
The sheriff’s bomb squad called the Marines’ Explosive Ordnance Detail from Camp Pendleton to disarm the weapon.
Marines detonated the device found in the recently stolen and recovered 2005 Ford E350 van with three explosives before taking the van from the scene was declared safe.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to the 24000 block of Via Portola at about 12:45 p.m. when Ernie Adkins, the van’s owner, found the grenade tashed in the overhead rack.
Adkins’ reported his van stolen a few weeks ago. Upland police returned to him.
Source: http://www.ocregister.com/news/sheriff-military-amormino-813380-called-niguel
HOMELAND SECURITY
First Crack in US-UK Special Relationship? (back)
August 18, 2007
by Adrian Morgan
The unelected prime minister of Britain , Gordon Brown, assumed his office on June 27. Within three days, two car bombs were discovered in the West End of London, and a flaming Jeep Cherokee filled with gasoline and butane gas was driven into the entrance of Glasgow Airport . Brown and his newly-appointed Home Secretary made speeches after these terror plots, but were careful not to mention ‘Islamic terrorism’ or ‘Muslim terrorism’, despite the ideology of the perpetrators.
The new terminology removing any associations of Islam from discussion of Islamic terrorism came directly from Gordon Brown’s command, denoting a shift from the policies of his predecessor and fellow Labour party member Tony Blair. The term ‘war on terror’ was also dropped by Gordon Brown. Kowtowing to the minority Muslim population, Brown’s official spokesman said: ‘There is clearly a need to strike a consensual tone in relation to all communities across the U.K. It is important that the country remains united.’ Perhaps for the sake of accuracy he should have employed the expression ‘It is important that the country maintains a pretense of being united.’
Brown’s revised strategy on terrorism - focusing on ‘consultation’ with so-called community ‘leaders’ and donating money to ‘citizenship schemes’ - was naturally welcomed by the extremist Muslim Council of Britain. This group, co-founded by Kemal el-Helbawy of the Muslim Brotherhood, has senior members who support the ideology of Islamist ideologue Syed Ala Maududi. Though its leaders have refused to support events such as Holocaust Memorial Day and have never condemned Hamas attacks against Israel , the MCB acted as advisers for the Labour party government under Tony Blair. Their favored position was weakened after the MCB signed a letter in August 12, 2006 blaming UK foreign policy for home-grown terrorism.
In October last year, the government warned Muslim groups that if they were not active in fighting extremism, they would lose their state funding. There are rumors, so far not proven, that the MCB may once again become an advisory body of the UK government. Brown has promoted two individuals into his cabinet - Mark Malloch Brown (Foreign Office minister) and Douglas Alexander (International Development Secretary) - who appear to promote negotiations with international extremist groups and a weakening of the ‘special relationship’ with the US.
The new Foreign Secretary, 42-year old David Miliband, promoted the integrity of the ‘special relationship’ prior to Gordon Brown’s visit to Camp David on July 30. Yet on Tuesday August 8 Miliband signaled a major departure from the policies of Tony Blair. In a letter to Condoleezza Rice, Miliband requested that the US sends five suspected terrorists, currently held in Guantanamo Bay , to Britain . None of these individuals has UK citizenship, and there are few in Britain who wish them to be living here.
On August 1, it was announced that one UK non-citizen, an Iraqi named Bisher al-Rawi, was back in Britain . He had been arrested in Gambia in November 2002 with Jamil al-Banna, a Jordanian with known links to suspected Al Qaeda member Abu Qatada. Shortly before their arrests, al-Banna had been approached by MI5, who had sought information on Qatada. The freeing of Bisher al-Rawi, who has been a resident of the UK (but not a citizen) for two decades, appears to be part of the US plan to reduce numbers at Guantanamo , with a view to eventual closure.
In the past, Britain has called for release of UK nationals, but the request by Miliband is the first time that Britain has asked for the release of individuals who are not citizens but refugees or ‘residents’ in Britain. The five subjects of Miliband’s request are Jamil al-Banna, Omar Deghayes, Shaker Abdur-Raheem Aamer, Binyam Mohammed al Habashi and Abdulnour Sameur. The Sunday Times quoted Sandra Hodgkinson, deputy assistant secretary of defence for detainee affair at the Pentagon. She warned that the suspects could try to rejoin terror operations. Unless Britain takes precautions, they could pose a threat to UK security, Hodgkinson warned.
Sandra Hodgkinson claims that one of the individuals had been an interpreter for Osama bin Laden, and had been funded by him while living in Afghanistan . Another had a ‘long-tern association’ with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former head of Al Qaeda in Iraq . Another individual is said to be a ‘jihadi veteran’ of the Bosnian conflict who has links to the terrorist Salaheddine Benyaich, who helped organize the suicide bombings of May 16, 2003, in which 33 innocent people died. So who are these individuals?
The Detainees That Britain Wants Back
Jamil el-Banna, who had been arrested at Banjul airport in Gambia on November 8, claims he had visited Africa to set up a peanut oil company. He has refugee status. He knew Abu Qatada when they were neighbours in Pakistan . His case has been supported by Amnesty International and by Brent East MP, Sarah Teather, who is chair of Britain ‘s All Party Parliamentary Group on Guantanamo Bay . She has said: ‘This decision should have been taken years ago. Abandoning British residents to indefinite imprisonment in obscene conditions was a gross dereliction of duty by the Government. Guantanamo Bay is an insult to democracy and a violation of the principles the war on terror purports to defend. Many questions remain over the Government’s complicity in the abduction and imprisonment of Jamil.’ Al-Banna is the only one among the five to have been cleared for release by US authorities.
Shaker Abdur-Raheem Aamer (aka Shakir Abdurahim Mohamed Ami) is originally from Saudi Arabia but has lived in Battersea, south London , since 1996. Given indefinite leave to remain in Britain , he married and had three children. He had been captured in Afghanistan on January 15, 2002. He claims that he had gone to Afghanistan in August 2001 to carry out charity work. A fourth child was born after his arrest which he has not seen. Despite the attempts by his supporters to portray Aamer as a traumatized victim, according to files quoted by Sandra Hodgkinson, he received a stipend from bin Laden when he lived in Afghanistan . He also acted as an ‘interpreter’ for bin Laden, it is alleged, and had ‘ties’ to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Aamer is said to have links to Islamists who plotted an attack upon the UK parliament in 2005.
Binyam Mohammed al Habashi is an Ethiopian who arrived in Britain in 1991, aged 15. His father had become an asylum seeker. He converted to Islam seven years after his arrival. He is suspected of undergoing explosives training in Afghanistan alongside shoe-bomber Richard Reid. He had been arrested in Karachi , Pakistan , in 2002. He is accused of trying to fly to the US where he was said to have intended to be part of a plot to blow up apartment blocks. He claims that he was sent from Pakistan to Morocco , where he was subjected to torture during an 18 month detention.
The Times wrote recently: ‘A United States military indictment alleges that Binyam Mohammed received firearms and explosives training alongside the shoebomber Richard Reid, was lectured by Osama bin Laden and was given a terrorist mission by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the architect of the 9/11 atrocities.’
Abdelnour Sameur is a deserter from the Algerian army who arrived in 1999. Since April 2000 when his refugee status was accepted, he has ‘leave to remain’ in Britain . He lived in South Harrow, in northwest London with his brother. Sameur has said that in the summer of 2001, a man he had encountered in the notorious Finsbury Park mosque had given him money to go to Afghanistan . Sameur said that he thought that in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, he would find it easier to live as a Muslim. Sameur is said to have fought with the Muslim fighters in Bosnia . He was arrested in the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan after he had been shot in the leg while trying to resist capture.
While in Afghanistan Sameur admitted having prior knowledge of the 9/11 attacks, but later claimed he had made the confession under duress. Sameur said to US investigators at Guantanamo : ‘I just told them anything, whatever they wanted to hear, because I wanted them to treat my leg. I saw other people there whose legs had to be cut off. I did not want my leg to be cut off.’
36-year old Omar Deghayes is a controversial figure, with a controversial brother who runs an extremist mosque - the Alquds mosque - in Brighton , Sussex . Libyan-born Omar Deghayes was arrested in Pakistan shortly after the fall of the Taliban. According to the US authorities, Omar Deghayes had gone to Afghanistan with the help of a senior Al Qaeda figure, had attended a terror training camp, and ‘had a good relationship with Osama bin Laden’. He had arrived in Britain in 1986 with his mother, his sister Amani and brother Abubaker, after his trade unionist father had been shot by Gadaafi in Libya . It is alleged that Omar Deghayes is shown on a Chechen training video in the possession of the Spanish government, but his lawyers claim this is a case of mistaken identity. His sister denies that he has ever been to Chechnya . Omar Deghayes had settled with his family in Brighton, and had studied law at Wolverhampton and Huddersfield . He had dropped out of studies and gone to Afghanistan .
Some of the US evidence against Omar Deghayes appears to be corroborated by court reports. In May 2004 David Courtailler was sentenced by a French court to jail for ‘conspiring with criminals engaged in a terrorist enterprise’. Courtailler had gone to Afghanistan and had links to Jamal Zougam, a key suspect in the Madrid train bombings of March 11, 2004, which killed 190 people. At Courtailler’s trial, it was stated that Omar Deghayes had given him 1,000 pounds to travel to Afghanistan . In Courtailler’s indictment, he had also been given a telephone number in Pakistan by his benefactor.
Courtailler had arrived in Brighton in 1997 while a recovering drug addict. He had converted to Islam at the Alquds mosque run by Omar Deghayes’ brother Abubaker. The original imam at the mosque, Dr Abduljalil Sajid, had been ousted by Abubaker Deghayes and his followers. These had used threats and actual violence to take control of the mosque, backed up by court records. On four occasions between December 1996 and January 1997, Abubaker Deghayes had physically attacked Dr Sajid.
The statements from Sandra Hodgkinson of the Pentagon claim that one of the 5 individuals that Britain wants returned had links with Salaheddine Benyaich, who was a plotter of the May 2003 Casablanca bombings. Currently, Benyaich is serving an 18 year jail term in Morocco for his part in the bombings. Long before these attacks took place, Benyaich had used the stolen identity of a Brighton man to gain a UK passport. The individual whose identity was stolen was a 32-year old electrician named David Charles Burgess. In fact, the British government had issued the Moroccan terrorist with TWO passports. Benyaich had used these to travel around Europe . Courtailler had gone on a three month trip to Spain and North Africa in November 1998. In Tangiers, he had stayed at the family home of the Benyaich family. Was David Burgess’ identity, so useful for Saleheddine Benyaich, stolen with assistance from the Deghayes-controlled Alquds mosque in Brighton ?
Omar Deghayes claims that in March 2004 while in Camp Delta , he was so badly sprayed with pepper spray that he is now blind in one eye. In a diary, Omar Deghayes has shown Islamist contempt for his US captors, writing: ‘I am very frustrated with these cunning officers and worthless men of no word. In Arabia we look down on such people.’
The warnings of Sandra Hodgkinson should be heeded. Some of these five individuals that Gordon Brown’s government wishes to return to Britain may easily revert to their terror associations. Once in Britain , the Human Rights Act of 1986 will mean that - should they reactivate their terror links - they will be impossible to deport.
The ethos behind the move to have these individuals returned is almost certainly designed more to appease the Islamists in Britain than it is to please the general public. The shadow immigration minister, Damian Green of the Conservative party, has written to Jacqui Smith, Brown’s new Home Secretary. He wrote: ‘Can you confirm, on the information you have, either that the individuals present no risk to British security or that the necessary measures have been taken to ensure that they will pose no threat on return to this country?’
So far, no answer has been forthcoming....
Source: http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=10733