Threat Matrix: January 2008

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[nwctwx]

Still in Control

Pervez Musharraf was calm, confident and—despite a flurry of rumors—not about to announce his resignation. Instead, the Pakistani president's "concession" to his troubled nation was an announcement that he would allow Britain's Scotland Yard to help local law enforcement agencies with their investigation into last week's assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Speaking in a nationally televised address two hours after Pakistan's election commission announced the postponement of the ballot to Feb. 18, six weeks later than had been scheduled, Musharraf was notably deferential in his remarks about Bhutto, often invoking her "martyrdom" and extolling her liberal democratic credentials. "May she go to heaven," he said. "I stand for the same things she said." Read More

	Pakistan's Frayed Politics
	Musharraf's Dangerous Liaisons
	Pakistan after Bhutto

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January 2008

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[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1960091/posts?page=15#15

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1960091/posts

“Fake FedEx Trucks; When the Drugs Absolutely Have to Get There”
ABC News ^ | 18 JAN 2008 | BRIAN ROSS
Posted on 01/26/2008 3:12:06 PM PST by radar101

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1960117/posts?page=15#15

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Another Iranian propaganda moment...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1960117/posts

“Iran says it could attack US bases”
ap ^ | 1/25/08 | ap
Posted on 01/26/2008 4:45:01 PM PST by Flavius

[Cindy]

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48775

“Mrs. Mullen Christens Guided-Missile Destroyer”

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

PASCAGOULA, Miss., Jan. 26, 2008

[Cindy]

Off Topic - Note: We’ve been following this “mystery” disease for several years.

#

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=morgellons

http://www.krem.com/topstories/stories/M_IMAGE.1175910ab03.93.88.fa.d0.31d349eb.jpg

http://www.krem.com/topstories/stories/krem2_011708_cbsmorgellons.31b09bc5.html

Mystery disease patients describe splinters bursting out of skin
07:15 PM PST on Thursday, January 17, 2008
CBS NEWS
NEW YORK —

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The CDC has launched a study to learn more about the skin disorder Morgellons.

It sounds like something out of a horror movie — painful lesions and scars that cover the body.

“They typically describe a disturbing skin sensation such as itching or stinging or pins and needles,” says Dr. Michelle Pearson with the Centers for Disease Control.

This mystery illness is called Morgellons and some patients claim it causes tiny fibers to pop out of their skin.

“It’s miserable, it feels like you’ve got splinters coming out,” says registered nurse Cindy Casey.”

[Cindy]

Pakistan UPDATES here:

http://truthusa.com/a/index.php?topic=810.0

http://truthusa.com/a/index.php?topic=1538.0

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=pakistan

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=taliban
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=taleban

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019707.php
(AP)

January 26, 2008

“American woman kidnapped in Afghanistan”

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Traveling around Kandahar city has turned increasingly dangerous in the last year, as the Taliban insurgency has spread throughout southern Afghanistan.”

[MamaDearest]

Astronomers said the space rock will be visible the night of Jan. 29 to amateur astronomers with modest-sized telescopes.”

We have a fairly large telescope, but with current snow predictions, I seriously doubt we'll be able to see it.

[MamaDearest]

Over 1000 cases Morgellons

Over 1000 people in Texas, Florida and California are saying that they are suffering from a nasty new skin complaint, but doctors are telling them they are 'delusional'.

Website with many Morgellons links

[Cindy]

Thank you for those links MamaDearest.

[MamaDearest]

You're welcome Cindy!

US says threat against airlines remains high

More than six years after the attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people, "there continues to be a focus on air travel as a target," he said, adding the threat level was unlikely to be changed in the near future.

Chertoff, who warned last week that one of the biggest threats to U.S. security could come from Europe, said European counter-terrorism authorities acknowledge their countries "are both a target and a platform" for militants.

5 linked to illegal entry scam

Five Indonesians working at the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta, an immigration office, an airline and an airport had links to an illegal immigration scam uncovered at Narita Airport in September last year, according to the Chiba prefectural police and the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau.

Two of them, a 50-year-old female receptionist at the embassy and a 39-year-old male cabin attendant of Garuda Indonesia Airline, have been arrested and indicted on suspicion of helping large-scale illegal entry into the nation in violation of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law.

Airline passengers react to shoeshine security breach

Around noon Friday, officials evacuated about 400 fliers from the Boise Airport terminal, some even had to deplane. According to TSA, it all happened because 38-year-old Jesse Flores, of California, re-entered the terminal through the clearly marked exit lane. Security agents never saw him. It was a passenger that reported the breech.

Officials say Flores came off a flight, went to the car rental, but went back for a shoeshine. TSA and Boise police reviewed surveilance video, and tracked Flores down after he had left the airport. Police cited him with a misdemeanor. TSA says he could still face a federal fine of up to $10,000.

[Cindy]

from your link - article snippet:

“DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The United States is likely to keep a high threat designation for the airline industry because militants still see air travel as a target, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said.”

#

OPINION:
I agree.

[Cindy]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3498968,00.html
(AP)

“Lebanese police probe recent killing of terrorism investigator”
Published: 01.26.08, 18:07 / Israel News

ARTICLE SNPPET: “A powerful car bombing Friday killed Capt. Wissam Eid, one of the country’s top terrorism investigators who was probing assassinations of prominent anti-Syrian figures and a series of other attacks in recent years, including the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.”

[Cindy]

RECAP and UPDATED:

NATIONAL REVIEW.com: "QUESTIONS FOR THE PENTAGON Who is Hesham Islam?" by Claudia Rosett (January 25, 2008)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com - INSIDE THE RING by Bill Gertz - Page 2: "CENTCOM and Islam" (January 25, 2008)

FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE.com: "VALIDATING MAJOR COUGHLIN" by Andrew G. Bostom (January 24, 2008)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "FRONT-GATE" -Commentary by Frank J. Gaffney Jr. (January 22, 2008)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "ISLAMISM AND CHALLENGES TO RESOURCES FOR U.S. STRATEGIC PLANNING AGAINST JIHAD" by Jeffrey Imm (January 12, 2008)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE DISMISSAL OF STEPHEN COUGHLIN, JOINT STAFF, PENTAGON" (January 12, 2008)

Off-Topic.Internet-Haganah.com: "ELEMENTS IN THE US MILITARY INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY FIND THE KOOL-AID* LESS-THAN-PALATABLE..." (January 11, 2008)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "INSIDE THE RING Coughlin Backed" by Bill Gertz (January 11, 2008)

FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE.com: "FIRED FOR THE TRUTH" by Andrew G. Bostom (January 10, 2008)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "'The termination of Stephen Coughlin on the Joint Staff is an act of intellectual cowardice'" (January 5, 2008)

NADREW BOSTOM.org - blog: "EATON AGONISTES, REDUX?" (January 5, 2008)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "INSIDE THE RING Coughlin Sacked" by Bill Gertz (January 4, 2008)

JIHAD WATCH.org (WASHINGTON TIMES.com, "Inside the Ring" by Bill Gertz, Page 2): "PRO-MUSLIM PENTAGON OFFICIALS PRESSURING ONE OF THE U.S. MILITARY'S MOST IMPORTANT SPECIALISTS ON JIHAD" (December 28, 2007)

STRATEGY CENTER.net/docLib: "'TO OUR GREAT DETRIMENT': IGNORING WHAT EXTREMISTS SAY ABOUT JIHAD (with appendices)" by Stephen Collins Coughlin, Major, Military Intelligence, USAR, NDIC Class 2007 (July 2007) (pdf)

[Cindy]

http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2008/01/tangled-web-of-simplicity-nuke/

“Tangled Web of Simplicity: Nukes, Iran, Spies, and the IAEA”
By Steve Schippert on January 26, 2008 at 10:05 AM |

[Cindy]

Thanks to a special freepmailer for pointing to these links:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hk7C9xrwYQ0-V88kTdkgK4tqaA2AD8UD9UE00

“Suspected Crime Lord Arrested in Moscow”
By DOUGLAS BIRCH – 1 day ago

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “MOSCOW (AP) — A suspected crime boss sought by the FBI for years has been arrested on a Moscow street in connection with a tax evasion probe into owners of a cosmetic-shop chain, officials said Friday.

Semyon Mogilevich, a Ukrainian-born Russian citizen accused by FBI officials of involvement in criminal enterprises ranging from securities fraud to weapons trafficking, was detained late Wednesday, said Angela Kostoyeva, spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry’s anti-organized crime unit.

Mogilevich was detained under the alias of Sergei Schneider, the spokeswoman said, adding that he has used 17 other names and holds passports from several countries. A Moscow court approved his formal arrest Thursday.”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Mogilevich is wanted by the FBI on charges of racketeering, securities fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, according to the bureau’s Web site. The FBI welcomed the Moscow arrest but noted that it was not linked to its own investigation of Mogilevich.

The U.S. charges stem from a 2003 indictment in Philadelphia, in which Mogilevich and an associate were accused of manipulating the stock of a Pennsylvania-based company, YBM Magnex Inc. The billion-dollar corporation collapsed in May 1998.

While Russian authorities had cooperated on the earlier U.S. investigation, the FBI was not involved in the current Russian operation, according to Pete Kowenhoven, supervisor of the bureau’s organized crime unit in Philadelphia.
“This arrest does please us,” he said Friday.”

#

blog:

http://www.buchanan.org/blog/?p=716

April 17, 2007

“How Lobbyists Help Ex-Soviets Woo Washington”
posted by Linda
by Glenn R. Simpson and Mary Jacoby
The Wall Street Journal

#

stepping back in time

http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/geo/pastanalysis/2004/0331.html

Weekly Column - 03.31.2004

“THE RUSSIAN MAFIYA AND AL QAEDA”
by J. R. Nyquist

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stepping back in time...

http://www.moscowtelegraph.com/mogilevich.htm

MOGILEVICH INDICTED IN PENNSYLVANIA FOR RACKETEERING, MONEY LAUNDERING
© US-Russia Press Club, Inc.
All rights reserved

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Philadelphia, April 24, 2003. A federal indictment, unsealed today, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, charges Semyon Mogilevich and his two cohorts, Igor L’Vovich Fisherman, and Anatoli Tsoura with 45 counts of racketeering, securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering, according to the FBI crime alert. The three men are wanted for their alleged participation in a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud investors in the stock of YBM Magnex International, Inc. (YBM), a public company incorporated in Canada, but headquartered in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Investors lost more than 150 million dollars through the alleged scheme that included inflating stock values, preparing bogus financial books and records, lying to Securities and Exchange Commission officials, and offering bribes to accountants. The scheme to defraud collapsed on May 13, 1998, when federal search warrants were executed in Pennsylvania and trading of the YBM stock was suspended by the Ontario Securities Exchange. “

[Cindy]

ADDING links to post no. 1075:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/01/26/2008-01-26_russian_police_arrest_suspected_crime_lo-1.html

“Russian police arrest suspected crime lord who is also wanted by FBI”
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saturday, January 26th 2008, 4:00 AM
MOSCOW

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http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=Mogilevich&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d

[Cindy]

https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=78876

YOU ARE HERE: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report
Warden Message: Recent Violence in Guyana
CONSULAR AFFAIRS BULLETINS
Americas - Guyana
26 Jan 2008

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=bus

#

Note: The following news brief is a quote:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3499118,00.html

Gunmen ambush minibus in Baghdad; release 5 women passengers
Published: 01.27.08, 10:19 / Israel News

Gunmen ambushed a minibus carrying five female university employees to work Sunday in Baghdad, seizing the driver but releasing the women unharmed after several minutes, police said.

About eight attackers in two cars stopped the minibus at about 7:30 am Local time (0430 GMT) as it was collecting passengers in a predominantly Shiite area in southeastern Baghdad, two police officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information. (AP)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1960257/posts

“Japan: Government set to step up air defense / Cruise missile attack fears behind move”
Yomiuri Shimbun ^ | 01/2708
Posted on 01/27/2008 2:53:34 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster

[Cindy]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html

“Worldwide Caution”

January 17, 2008