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://truthusa.com/a/index.php?topic=1576.0

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Thanks to Freeper Fanfan for the ping to this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1952328/posts

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http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24329&s=rcmp

“Honor Killing in Texas”
by Robert Spencer
Posted: 01/08/2008

[Cindy]

Thanks Velveeta. Adding links to post no. 500:

JIHAD WATCH.org (DAILY MAIL.co.uk): "JIHADISTS PLOTTED INNER SPIRITUAL STRUGGLE TO BLOW UP EIFFEL TOWER" (January 11, 2008)

Link

WTOP.com (AP): Paris - "FRENCH PROBE E-MAIL THREATENING PARIS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "They said only that the message went to an Internet site run by Salafists, or Islamic fundamentalists.") (January 9, 2008, 4:52 pm)

[Cindy]

Previously...

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

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

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blog:

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=28469_French_Calm_As_Cars_Burn&only

http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAL0138249720080101

“Cars torched over ‘calm’ French New Year”
Tue Jan 1, 2008 6:51am EST

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “PARIS (Reuters) - Vandals torched 372 cars as France celebrated the New Year, down on the figure last year after a night the police described as “relatively calm.”

Cars are burned fairly regularly in France and the image of vehicles in flames in poor suburbs became symbolic of riots in 2005 when angry youths set fire to thousands of cars.”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “At the height of the 2005 riots as many as 1,400 cars were attacked in overnight violence. In protests over President Nicolas Sarkozy election last May, demonstrators set fire to 730 vehicles.”

[Velveeta]

Thanks, cindy.
Here’s another link to the France topic:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&um=1&tab=wn&scoring=n&q=eiffel+tower

[MamaDearest]

The inspectors said they found the mice hiding in pillows

Yehchttttt - ditto using the blankets (most likely never washed).

Hotel drinking glasses

El Pasoans could wait weeks for medicine in bioterrism attack

If something like an anthrax attack or the Pandemic flu hits El Paso, El Paso’s Bioterrorism Pan Demic Flu Preparedness Program said it will be mass chaos. The city's department of health will have enough medicine to treat people, but the department said it needs more than 2,000 extra volunteers to give out medicine. As of now the department has about 450 volunteers. At that rate people will be waiting for a long time to get medicine they need.

“It would take about three weeks to mass medicate all of El Paso if something were to happen tomorrow or today,” said Strategic National Stockpile planner Rosalinda Hortsman.

New York City battles feds for bio-terror sensors

A new generation of early warning sensors for biological terrorism is proving to be controversial in New York City, as city officials battle with the federal government over the number of sensors.

City officials want more of the units, which cost $100,000 each. But officials with the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., which funds 90 percent of the units' cost, say they prefer to wait for even newer technology, saying the government wants "accurate and affordable" bioterrorism protection for all cities.

Medical alert response by agencies dangerously slow

How fast do public health departments nationwide respond to medical practitioners' alerts that a patient has a serious infectious disease such as smallpox or meningitis? Or to a doctor who thinks he's seeing the first symptoms of anthrax from bioterrorism?

Not very. In fact, the average response time could be dangerously slow, according to a new study from the Rand Corp.

Researchers found that only one-third of the 74 participating agencies consistently connected the reporting doctors or nurses with a qualified “action officer,” such as a public health nurse or epidemiologist, within 30 minutes.

[MamaDearest]

Killer bees discovered in Louisiana for first time

Africanized honeybees, often called "killer bees" for their aggressive attacks, have been discovered for the first time in Rapides Parish, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry confirmed Thursday.

Gang jailed for largest ever passport forgery

Snippets:

The four men, all from eastern Europe, ran what was effectively a fake document factory from a two-bedroom flat in Barnet, north London.

When police raided the property, officers found a wardrobe containing more than 1,800 completed counterfeit passports - the largest ever single haul of fake passports made by the Metropolitan Police.

Kosovan Dennis Cennoli, 25, and Altin Ibrahimi, a 31-year-old Albanian, were both jailed for five years. Two Bulgarians - Krum Poibrenski, 31, and Kiril Velev, 29 - were jailed for a total of six years.

5 members of violent prison gang arrested on RICO charges

Five members of the violent Barrio Azteca gang have been arrested on a federal indictment alleging 11 RICO counts, the U.S. Attorney's Office in El Paso announced Thursday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman said the five reputed gang members — Danny Tarin, 28; Jose Martin Garcia, 38; Said Francisco Herrera, 28; John Michelletti, 37; and Eugene Mona, 50 — are accused of racketeering, murder, extortion, money laundering and trafficking in marijuana, cocaine and heroin, among other offenses.

[Cindy]

Thank you Velveeta.

[Cindy]

I wonder what subjects of interest have some of those false passports.

[MamaDearest]

I wonder what subjects of interest have some of those false passports.

I thought that myself Cindy. UK - hotspot as it is......

Jersey chemical safeguards won't be weakened by the feds

New Jersey adopted several new regulations regarding access to the plants, possession of firearms and security guards. Additionally, some of the most potenti ally dangerous facilities were re quired to investigate safer technologies for their operations.

"In that regard, New Jersey is miles and miles ahead of where the federal government is now," Jackson said.

Man charged with setting off chemical bombs in Hagerstown

A Hagerstown man was arrested Thursday after authorities alleged he set off homemade chemical bombs in a residential neighborhood Jan. 4, the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s office said. Gayle Younker Jr., 26, of North Haven Trailer Park, was charged with two counts of manufacturing and discharging a destructive device, fourth-degree burglary, and disorderly conduct, the office said in a news release.

Global Politician

Chechen TV told to teach Islam

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov threatened on Thursday to shut regional television stations, including private ones, if they do not offer viewers a crash course on Islam.

Kadyrov, speaking at a meeting with television executives, local administrators and Muslim clergymen, said television stations must explain the basics of Islam to help fight against radical Islamists.

Iran planning more provocations in Persian Gulf

Debka is reporting U. S. intelligence has information the commander of the Revolutionary Guards General Mohamed Jaafari is indeed planning more provocations that have caused the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its escorts to be on high alert during Bush's visit to the Persian Gulf. Other than speedboats, Iran has developed mini-subs and has been working on a living torpedo controlled by a suicide bomber propelled with a powerful engine. He jumps off before making contact. I don't think Tehran would mind if a shooting war began during Bush's visit since that would be an enormous embarrassment for him. Tehran could state it is responding to Washington's aggression, as have Islamic groups that have been attacking the occupation of Iraq.

[Cindy]

An interesting set of articles.

Thank you MamaDearest.

[MamaDearest]

You’re welcome Cindy. There’s a LOT going on! Thanks for the links you’ve posted as well.

[Cindy]

Yep, a lot going on and that’s the truth.

[Velveeta]

Ick, my girlfriend emailed me the hotel drinking glasses article. Yuck!

[Velveeta]

Blank bullets sent to Berlusconi with ‘Islamist death threat’
http://indiainteracts.com/gossip/2008/01/12/11916/Blank-bullets-sent-to-Berlusconi-with-Islamist-death-threat/

[Cindy]

“...former prime minister...”

Hmmm....could be the bad guy’s info is out of date if he/she is sending it to the former prime minister.

Thanks Velveeta.

[Velveeta]

Or they want to make good on old threats to those who backed us in Iraq.

Can’t keep my eyes open any longer, LOL.

Goodnight. ;-)

[Cindy]

Yep, that’s a possibility.

Sleep well Velveeta.

[Cindy]

Today’s STUCK ON STUPID award winner is Mr. Personality himself: Hugo Chavez.

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

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1952458/posts

Chavez: FARC is not a ‘terrorist body’
Agence France-Presse (excerpt) ^ | January 11, 2007
Posted on 01/11/2008 11:53:56 PM PST by HAL9000
Excerpt -

Hours after welcoming hostages freed by the Colombian rebel group FARC, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez urged European and Latin American governments Friday to stop branding Colombia’s guerrillas terrorists as does the United States.
“I am asking the governments (across Latin America) to take the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and ELN (National Liberation Army) off their lists of global terrorist groups,” Chavez told the National Assembly, saying he asked European nations to do the same.

“Because those lists exist for one reason alone — US pressure,” Chavez said in his address on the year 2007.

The leftist Colombian rebel groups “are not any terrorist body, they are real armies that occupy territory in Colombia; they must be recognized, they are insurgent forces that have a political project, a Bolivarian project, which here is respected,” Chavez said.

His message was likely to infuriate the elected Colombian government the rebels are bent on bringing down.

~ snip ~

(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...

[Cindy]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/mideast/trip2008/index.html

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http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3493092,00.html

“9 rockets land in western Negev”

SNIPPET: “Terror groups send departing US president an aggressive message, fire four mortars, five Qassams at western Negev. No injuries, damage reported in the incidents”
Shmulik Hadad
Latest Update: 01.11.08, 21:00 / Israel News

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “US President George W. Bush’s visit to Israel, which began with a Qassam salvo on the western Negev, ended in a similar fashion, as seven rockets were fired form the Gaza Strip towards Israel on Friday.

Four mortar shells were fires from northern Gaza at Israel early Friday morning, landing in open areas near the security fence.

A Qassam rocket landed in an open area near Zikim several hours after that; and was followed by two more Qassams, which landed in the western Negev.

Two more Qassam rockets were fired from northern Gaza Friday evening, landing near Sha’ar Hanegev regional council. One of the rockets exploded, causing no damage. No injuries or damage were reported in the incidents.

Friday’s shooting occurred just two days after 15 Qassams were fired form Gaza Strip towards the Gaza vicinity communities. One of the rockets fired Wednesday hit a house in Sderot, another landing in the center of town, causing injuries to four people.”

[Cindy]

http://truthusa.com/a/index.php?topic=791.0

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http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1199964900918&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Jan 12, 2008 6:34 | Updated Jan 12, 2008 8:16
“’Syria has resumed construction of site IAF bombed in 2007’”
By JPOST.COM STAFF

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Syria has resumed construction at the site bombed by IAF jets in September 2007, a New York Times report said on Saturday morning.

In a satellite image released by private Colorado company, DigitalGlobe, the original main building appears to be in the process of reconstruction with the only difference being the shape of the roof. The photograph was taken on Wednesday, said the report.

The unspecified “military target” had been struck deep inside Syrian territory, while foreign reports claimed the site was a military installation containing nuclear material and technology supplied to Syria by North Korea. Syria has denied this claim, saying that Israel hit an empty warehouse.”