Threat Matrix: November 2008

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[Godzilla]

There is no way possible for an Iranian ship to deliver radioactive materials to Holland. Were they destined for Iran, they would have offloaded it en route to holland.

RUMINT floating around was that this was to be a 'dirty' bomb to be set off off the coast of Israel, letting the radioactivity drift inland.

[MamaDearest]

Thanks RR. My brother (Vietnam Vet) called to tell me his grown daughters got together yesterday and took him to lunch to celebrate Veterans Day. He was elated (and I was thrilled for him and VERY proud of my nieces).

[MamaDearest]

****Pakistan needs a bailout of 10 Billion****

Just about everyone with a handout request except the American taxpayer seems to be on the bailout list (not totally sarcasm). Meanwhile American car manufacturers continue building plants outside the USA as they hold their hands out for bailout money. When the airlines have extracted all the luggage and myriad other fees from us they can glean, can they be far behind?

Here's a refresher post and a new post re Pakistan:

Pakistan fury over US hot pursuit attack

Wed June 11, 2008 Snippets: Pakistan summoned the U.S. ambassador Wednesday to protest a U.S. airstrike that it says killed 11 of its forces who were cooperating with the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's newly appointed ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said that despite the "unacceptable" incident, Pakistan will continue to fight extremists within its own borders.

US development worker shot dead in Pakistan

They were ambushed in the provincial capital of Peshawar, in an area close to where a senior U.S. diplomat in Pakistan, a close ally of Washington in the U.S.-led "war on terror," escaped an assassination attempt in August.

"I can confirm that an American citizen and his Pakistani driver were killed in the attack," U.S. embassy spokesman Wes Robertson said.

[Rushmore Rocks]

Good for your niece. Some kids “get” it.

[Rushmore Rocks]

Oops. I meant million with a B.

[MamaDearest]

Evanston declares whooping cough outbreak

City of Evanston Health and Human Services officials declared an official outbreak of Pertussis. Five cases have been confirmed in Evanston, and two cases have yet to be confirmed.

Nautical News

The Miami charterboat "Joe Cool" is back in the news again. You might recall that the captain and crew of "Joe Cool" were killed after they refused to take two hijackers to Cuba. Although both men were found guilty and sentenced to life in jail, one of the men just got his verdict overturned. The man got off claiming that his partner took his gun, shot the captain and crew, and then ordered him at gunpoint to push their bodies overboard. Because he was not convicted of the murders or hijacking, the judge ruled that he couldn't be found guilty just because his gun was used. The judge blamed himself for giving "misleading and confusing" instructions to the jury and overturned the sentence.

---------------------------

Iraq says it will sell Saddam Hussein's luxury yacht after winning a legal dispute over its ownership. French authorities had seized the boat last January after it docked in Nice on France's Mediterranean coast. A yacht brokerage firm was trying to sell the boat for $33 million, but Iraq said the yacht belonged to them and a French judge agreed. The 270 foot yacht is fitted with swimming pools, salons, a secret passage to a speed boat, and a rocket launching system. While the yacht was built for Saddam, he never stayed on board for fear of a government coup while he was away.

Condemning Islamic terrorism banned on Marine training base

A lawsuit has been filed against two officers at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune Marine base for banning a civilian worker – a 25-year Marine whose son was a victim of the U.S.S. Cole attack – from publicly condemning Islamic terrorists.

Gold-n-Plump reaches settlement with Muslim employees

After federal mediation, the company says it will let employees take prayer breaks at the two poultry processing facilities. Gold-n-Plump also agreed to pay $720,000 for the plaintiffs' attorneys and another $215,000 which the federal equal employment opportunity commission will distribute.

Thieves steal dozens of weapons from Jasper store

Federal agents released surveillance video Thursday of a burglary at a sporting goods store on Camp Road in Jasper.  Authorities said the thieves stole more than 40 weapons.

[WestCoastGal]

CIA Chief: Bin Laden Isolated, Fighting to Survive
11/14/2008

WASHINGTON — Usama bin Laden is isolated from the day-to-day operations of Al Qaeda, but the terrorist organization he built is spreading its influence in Africa and the Middle East, CIA Director Michael Hayden said Thursday.

Al Qaeda remains the single greatest threat to the United States, Hayden said in a speech to the Atlantic Council. “If there is a major strike on this country, it will bear the fingerprints of Al Qaeda.”

“He is putting a lot of energy into his own survival — a lot of energy into his own security,” Hayden said in a speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

“All the threats we have to the West have a thread that takes it back to the (Afghanistan/Pakistan) border,” Hayden added.

Hayden said there has been no spike in terrorist “chatter” to suggest an attack on the United States linked to the presidential transition.

“But we don’t know what we don’t know,” he said.

He said the intelligence agencies have received “very clear direction” to make this the smoothest transition in history “so there is no diminution in the ability of the republic to defend itself.” It is the first wartime transfer of power in 40 years.

Hayden said bin Laden, believed to be hiding in the lawless tribal border area of Pakistan, “appears to be largely isolated from the day-to-day operations of the organization he leads.”

The hunt for bin Laden remains at the top of the CIA’s priority list.

“His death or capture clearly would have a significant impact on the confidence of his followers — both core Al Qaeda and unaffiliated extremists throughout the world,” Hayden said.

Al Qaeda-affiliated groups in the Philippines and Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Iraq have been degraded, but Al Qaeda cells are surfacing elsewhere, Hayden said.

“In East Africa, Al Qaeda is engaging Somali extremists to revitalize operations,” the CIA director said. “The recent bombings in Somalia may have been meant, at least in part, to strengthen bona fides with al-Qaida’s senior leaders. A merger between al-Shabaab and Al Qaeda could give Somali extremists much-needed funding, while Al Qaeda could claim to be re-establishing its operations base in East Africa.”

Recent attacks by an Algerian-based, Al Qaeda-linked group known as Lands of the Islamic Maghreb are bigger and more deadly than at any time since the group merged with Al Qaeda two years ago, he said.

Al Qaeda also is strengthening in Yemen with an “unprecedented number of attacks” in 2008 and is likely to be a launching pad for attacks against Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, Al Qaeda’s safe harbor in Pakistan has allowed it to train a “bench of skilled operatives” that can carry out attacks when other plans are disrupted, he said.

Iraq also remains a terrorist staging ground. Al Qaeda fighters seasoned in the Iraq war but now leaving for other countries pose a continuing concern, Hayden warned.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,451744,00.html

[WestCoastGal]

ALL ABOUT ADAM GADAHN

By Michelle Malkin  •  October 27, 2004 01:17 PM

The Drudge scoop today points to alleged American al Qaeda Adam Gadahn. Here are some handy background links:

-The FBI bulletin.

-Gadahn’s Muslim manifesto posted on a USC website.

-Debbie Schlussel’s report on Gadahn’s radical imam.

-More on the Islamic Society of Orange County at Little Green Footballs.

-Blogger Jon at Right Side Redux did some poking around into Gadahn’s past work for a little e-zine called Xenocide here.

-Robert Spencer reports on The New Face of al Qaeda.

-And before the anti-profiling absolutists start using Gadahn as their new poster boy, note that the FBI says he was just one member of a Khalid Sheikh Mohammed-hatched plot to blow up gas stations in the Baltimore area. The lead conspirator in the plot was Pakistani Majid Khan –a relative of convicted Pakistani al Qaeda operative Iyman Faris–who was sentenced last fall for his role in plotting to sabotage the Brooklyn bridge. Also reportedly tasked on the Baltimore bomb plot was Pakistani Uzair Paracha, charged last summer with aiding al Qaeda operatives seeking entry into the U.S.

- A little more on the ABC tape at the Kerry Spot…and Lorie Byrd muses about a terrifying October surprise.

- Fox News coverage of the ABC News non-coverage at The Daily Recycler. And a follow-up report from Fox News here. MSNBC says CIA can’t authenticate the tape.

- Profile of Gadahn in City Beat, focusing on his pre-Islamist conversion love of heavy metal (hat tip: Alia)

[WestCoastGal]

Pertussis seems to be making a comeback, one of the larger cities near me had an outbreak last year. I’m guessing it’s the hispanics who don’t immunize their children who are spreading this.
~~~~~~~~~~
The judge who overturned the verdict in that hijack case should be fires along with 1000’s of others who just can’t seem to do their job. They let out perverts and criminals on a daily basis rather than find a way to lock them up and throw away the keys.

[Godzilla]

placemark

[WestCoastGal]

November 14, 2008

African Taliban Back On The Move

And running around freely in Mogadishu, it seems.

Even in the capital, where the government is still nominally in control, Shabab fighters carry out public punishments like lashings and stonings, conduct training exercises and present themselves as alternate government.

The Ethiopians, who invaded and drove the Islamists into the hinterlands of Somalia, have apparently adopted a new strategy of sitting on their asses. Somalia is one country I'm starting think would be better off if we just took off and nuked the place from orbit.LINK

[WestCoastGal]

India's ABC News Live was excited to report that president-elect Barack Obama finally spoke with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Unfortunately, they chose the wrong stock photo this historic event:

Blog drgnwrks explains, via Tim Blair:

Apparantly the Indian press is not in on the joke. A web site headline says that at last the PM of India, Manmohan Singh, has finally got a call from President-Elect Obama.

Unfortunately, they must have chosen the stock doctored photo of the day with the phone upside down, and the clock on the wall referencing the 3:00 AM phone call to Hillary. (or was it Hillary's phone call to someone else, I forget.) However, I did grab a PDF for posterity of the three posteriors in question.

LINK

[Rushmore Rocks]

That is way too funny. Even in my worst moments, I know how to hold a phone............of course I wouldn’t be posing for a photo op.

[KylaStarr]

From the last link on your post, I explored a bit and found this:

http://www.heyetnet.org/eng/iraq-news/3408-honorable-iraqi-soldier-kills-occupiers.html

Honorable Iraqi Soldier kills Occupiers
Thursday, 13 November 2008 12:01

>>An honorable Iraqi soldier killed four US occupation soldiers and wounding three others while they were trying to impinge an Iraqi girl.<<

Propaganda at its best.

[WestCoastGal]

The Things He Carried
Article Tools
sponsored by:

During one secondary inspection, at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, I was wearing under my shirt a spectacular, only-in-America device called a “Beerbelly,” a neoprene sling that holds a polyurethane bladder and drinking tube. The Beerbelly, designed originally to sneak alcohol—up to 80 ounces—into football games, can quite obviously be used to sneak up to 80 ounces of liquid through airport security. (The company that manufactures the Beerbelly also makes something called a “Winerack,” a bra that holds up to 25 ounces of booze and is recommended, according to the company’s Web site, for PTA meetings.) My Beerbelly, which fit comfortably over my beer belly, contained two cans’ worth of Bud Light at the time of the inspection. It went undetected. The eight-ounce bottle of water in my carry-on bag, however, was seized by the federal government.

On another occasion, at LaGuardia, in New York, the transportation-security officer in charge of my secondary screening emptied my carry-on bag of nearly everything it contained, including a yellow, three-foot-by-four-foot Hezbollah flag, purchased at a Hezbollah gift shop in south Lebanon. The flag features, as its charming main image, an upraised fist clutching an AK-47 automatic rifle. Atop the rifle is a line of Arabic writing that reads Then surely the party of God are they who will be triumphant. The officer took the flag and spread it out on the inspection table. She finished her inspection, gave me back my flag, and told me I could go. I said, “That’s a Hezbollah flag.” She said, “Uh-huh.” Not “Uh-huh, I’ve been trained to recognize the symbols of anti-American terror groups, but after careful inspection of your physical person, your behavior, and your last name, I’ve come to the conclusion that you are not a Bekaa Valley–trained threat to the United States commercial aviation system,” but “Uh-huh, I’m going on break, why are you talking to me?”

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/airport-security

[MamaDearest]

Agency - Terror threat against Denmark considerable

Denmark's intelligence service said Thursday there is still a considerable threat from Islamic extremists against Danes and Danish interests abroad.

North Korea to shut border with South Korea December 1

North Korea said it will close its border with South Korea from Dec. 1, accusing the government in Seoul of taking confrontation between the two nations ``beyond the danger level.''

The Korean People's Army informed the South Korean military it intends to ``strictly restrict and cut off all the overland passages through the Military Demarcation Line,'' the state-run Korea Central News Agency said today.

7 charged over France rail sabotage

A French judge has slapped terrorism charges on seven people suspected of sabotaging France's rail network, including the 34-year-old alleged ringleader of the self-styled "invisible cell".

If found guilty of heading a terrorist organisation, Julien Coupat, a former sociology student, faces up to 20 years in jail.

He was also warned by magistrate Thierry Fragnoli that he faces charges connected with membership of a terrorist organisation and a refusal to submit to a DNA test.

Shots fired near US consulate in Mexico

Shots were fired near a U.S. consulate in northern Mexico on Thursday, the third incident at the building in a month, and officials briefly suspended visa services, police and witnesses said.

Mexican police swarmed around the consulate building in the city of Monterrey after shots were heard and a bullet hit a nearby fruit vendor's cart, a police spokesman said.

A U.S. official at the consulate denied Mexican media reports of an explosion at the building and said the consulate had reopened. "The visa lines and consulate (have) resumed normal routines," the official said.

In October, gunmen shot at the building and threw a grenade that did not explode. In another incident last month, gunmen also fired shots near the building.

[Velveeta]

Bookmark

[WestCoastGal]

Thanks for the ping MamaD.

Seems as though there is never a lack of news out there.

Kyla and I were thinking about the fires in Ca. Remembering the van that was spotted several years ago setting fires. Of course the AQ threat remains in all of our minds.

[Velveeta]

Thanks to Granny for these pings:

“TAMPA STICKS OF FIRE”, TERROR THREATS ANALYZED FOR SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
FEBRUARY 1st 2009, HAVE SUIICDE BOMBERS ARRIVED WITH “MOTHER OF SATAN BOMBS ?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2052529/posts?page=3375#3375

*****

[I snipped this from the news headlines in post 3379, from Jeffrey Imm, if they are doing it in England, they are here also.granny]

(UK) MI5 Discover Al-Qaeda Buying Ambulances on Ebay
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/world/mi5—al-qaeda-ambulances—ebay-suicide-bombers-7222.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2052529/posts?page=3381#3381

[nw_arizona_granny]

Thank you for posting the links.

LOL, seems like we stepped back in time, same threats, new date.