UPDATE:
Add to post no. 80:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/357426_haq03.html
Last updated April 2, 2008 3:48 p.m. PT
“Half of prospective jurors in Naveed Haq trial dismissed”
By TRACY JOHNSON
P-I REPORTER
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “One man thought whoever opened fire at the Jewish Federation offices was “an anti-Semitic, Islamic coward” and was fuming because the chaotic incident stranded him in downtown Seattle for hours.
Another believed the insanity defense was just something “put up by defense lawyers to get their client off the hook.”
Both men were kindly thanked for their time Wednesday — and then sent on their way — as attorneys began questioning potential jurors for the trial of Naveed Haq, a 32-year-old Tri-Cities man who is charged in the deadly July 2006 shooting.
Judge Paris Kallas plans to have 12 jurors and two alternates chosen before April 14, when the trial is expected to begin in King County Superior Court.
For now, 75 of the approximate 130 prospective jurors are being brought in to the courtroom individually to discuss thoughts on religion, mental illness or personal matters without their comments tainting the whole jury pool.
Of 13 who showed up Wednesday morning, the judge excused roughly half of them and will have the rest return for further voir dire next week.”
The security sabinet on Wednesday approved plans for a large-scale emergency drill scheduled to take place next week across the country. The drill will include all the government ministries, the Israel Defense Forces, local authorities and educational facilities.
The drill will simulate a war-time attack on civilians. It will be the largest drill in the past few years and ten of thousands of people are expected to participate, whether in the field or in special war rooms.
The drill will begin on Sunday with a special government meeting. On Monday, a cabinet meeting will simulate a situation in which Israel is at war. On Tuesday, an emergency siren will be heard all over the country as local authorities and the Home Front Command will simulate missile strikes through out the nation. The drill will be run by Rachel - the national emergency authority -which was formed following the second Lebanon war and is in charge of preparing civilians for emergency situations during war.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/971065.html
Israel: Iran listening in on IDF communications from Syria
April 02/2008
Iran has set up sophisticated listening stations in Syria in recent months to intercept Israeli military communications, Israeli security officials said Tuesday. The officials offered no details on how many stations had been set up. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose information about defense operations. Military officials said the listening stations received information through powerful antennas able to pick up communications from a distance of hundreds of kilometers. The antennas are receivers and do not transmit signals, so they cannot be blocked.
The distance between Jerusalem and Syria's capital, Damascus, is 220 kilometers (135 miles). Israel is taking new precautions because of the listening stations, the officials said.
Israel Defense Forces top brass won't be allowed to bring their mobile phones into rooms where classified information is being discussed, the officials said. Also, IDF generals will be assigned special areas on bases to conduct personal conversations. That way, listening stations won't be able to hear sensitive conversations that might be going on in the background while generals talk on their cellular phones, they explained.
Excerpted
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/971108.html
IDF Deputy Chief vows 'painful' response to any attack on Israel
April 02/2008
Israel Defense Forces Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Dan Harel on Wednesday warned Israel's enemies not to attack, saying "anyone who tries to harm Israel must remember that it is the strongest country in the region, and retaliation will be powerful and painful."
Harel's words came during a briefing for reporters at a Tel Aviv army base, hours after London-based Arabic-language daily Al Quds al-Arabi reported that the Syrian army was calling up part of its reserves over fears of an IDF offensive.
Excerpted