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Thread 11 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1159172/posts?page=1 |
Posted on 06/10/2004 2:28:29 PM PDT by JustPiper
Picture credit: TheCabal
"I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat"
U.S. Charges Australian Linked to al-Qaida
WASHINGTON - An Australian held at the Navy's prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will face a military tribunal for allegedly training and fighting alongside members of al-Qaida in Afghanistan (news - web sites), the Pentagon (news - web sites) announced Thursday.
We are the "Stotters" who make ourselves aware of the enemy who wishes to do us harm
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
WestCoastGal, the clintgoons are both so degenerate and tactless and self-absorbed, and for the life of me, I do not know why people say they are so smart. I say: BS! I know smart people and I know of smart people, and that pair are both quite ordinary except for their super-sized bad qualities. I also know and I know of excellent orators, and billyboy never had a hold on me whatsoever. I don't get why people are -- and they admit it, even non-dems! -- so entranced with him. Yuck.
JustPiper, I will never forget an alleged report by someone in the Vatican a few years back about the meeting between clintgoon and the Pope! Supposedly, Pope JPII remarked that out of all the leaders he has met with, clintgoon was the only one not listening to him. He was instead busy admiring the naked cupids on the wall!
If it is true and not a rumor, it doesn't surprise me. It reminds me of that real-to-life "movie" with Al Pacino, The Devil's Advocate. If the story about the meeting is not true, well, I still believe it anyway! It is far too easy to believe.
I believe RC performed the song for them at the '84 convention. Two class acts in one week. I've been telling everyone all day that my allergies are acting up, but the reality is that I've been very emotional. I'm not sad; God didn't plan for us to live here forever. I'm emotional because I recognize greatness and how blessed we are to have shared our lives with both RWR and RC.
Mass evacuation plan for London
Parts of London could be evacuated in the event of an attack
Mass evacuation plans for London are being developed in case the capital is hit by a terror attack, the government has confirmed.
The effort involves the Metropolitan Police, emergency services, transport operators and local authorities.
Minister Nick Raynsford said there was no need for alarm but "sensible precautions" had to be taken so any area of London could be evacuated.
A spokesman added there was no intelligence an attack was "likely".
Contingency
Mr Raynsford told the Evening Standard newspaper: "We do not want to cause alarm - it is part of sensible preparations to cope with any eventuality.
These plans are unlikely ever to be used but we have to prepare for the very worst
ODPM spokesman
Panorama: London under attack
"In the event of an incident in part of London, there must be contingencies in place.
"The aim is not just to help people leave the city safely but to provide information for those authorities receiving them outside."
A statement from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister added: "These plans are unlikely ever to be used but we have to prepare for the very worst.
"There is no intelligence which leads us to believe this is likely but government has a duty to plan."
Major incident
The spokesman added that actual details of the plans would not be published for security reasons.
But she said that the ODPM were asking local authorities to identify venues capable of accommodating "significant numbers of people".
Plans were also underway to direct evacuees from railway and bus stations to shelters.
Mr Raynsford said he did not want to cause alarm
"The work on evacuation is only part of an enormous amount of work the government and frontline services have done and are doing to be as prepared as possible to cope with any major incident and not only terrorism," the spokesman said.
It is understood the plans for the evacuation include moving government to a secure nuclear bunker somewhere in the countryside.
In the event of an attack mobile phones would be texted with instructions on how people should protect themselves. The authorities would also use radio and TV to communicate warnings and advice.
As well as identifying places in the home counties for evacuation, places suitable for becoming temporary mortuaries are also being identified.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3714291.stm
A woman's perogative (to change her mind).
Thank you.
The Devil's Advocate is perfect!!
I have always wondered how he got elected in the first place. It was so obvious, even then, that he was a liar. It's not as though all the stories floating around about his escapades weren't in the media already. But elect him they did and twice to boot. It still amazes me how gullible some were and still are I'm afraid to say.
http://www.uruknet.info/.?p=3481
Ransom. Nine Million Bucks and no Raid
Enrico Piovesana
June 10, 2004 "That house at 17 Zaitun Street had been vacant for at least two months. Monday night [June 7], at about 11, we heard noises. I live at 13 Zaitun Street, and I saw some cars stop in front of that house. Some people entered. It was dark, I couldn't see well. In a short while, they left, and everything was quiet.
The next morning, at about 9.30, five American military vehicles arrived. They stopped in front of that house. Some guys in civilian clothes and dark glasses got off. They certainly were American mukhabarat. [Mukhabarat is Arabic for secret service.] They opened the door of the house, they did not kick it in, as if it had been left unlocked, and left right away with four men, who we later found out were the three Italian hostages and the Polish one.
They put them in a white van and they all left. The entire job was done with the greatest calm. Not one shot was fired. In the house there was no one, apparently, except the hostages. There was no raid, as was instead reported three hours later. Your government has paid a ransom: nine million dollars. Everyone here knows it. That's enough, it's not safe to talk on the phone." The witness' name is Mr. Fahad. He was reached on the phone by Peace Reporter. Together with two of his neighbors, Mr. Mohammed and Mr. Ibrahim, he saw the liberation of Agliana, Cupertino, and Stefio his own eyes. Mr. Fahad is speaking from his home in Abu Ghraib, a western suburb of Baghdad, where the homonymous prison stands, widely known for the torture scandal.
His version is confirmed by another Iraqi source, near to the political organization of the guerrillas, which was reached by Peace Reporter. This source preferred to remain anonimous, and provided its version of the events.
This source begins naming Salih Mutlak. "Mutlak, he says, is a wealthy Iraqi businessman who made his fortune in financial speculation and smuggling during the years of the embargo. Many call him a mafioso. He is the key to the liberation of the three Italian hostages, together with Abdel Salam Kubaysi, Sunni ulema and teacher at Baghdad University, who became popular on international television networks for his role in the ransom release of the Japanese hostages.
According to that source, the Italian government negotiated for weeks in order to obtain the release of Agliana, Cupertino, and Stefio, detained on April 12 together with Quattrocchi, who was killed on April 14. In his pocket he had a weapon permit signed by the British military and a Coalition pass.
The negotiations between our [Italian] secret service, and the intermediaries began soon after those tragic days, and on April 20, news began to leak out, about the agreement with the Italian government for the payment of a nine million dollar ransom.
On April 22, the Italian governor of Nassiriya, Barbara Contini, observed that it should not be surprising if the government were to pay a ransom. She said, "That's the way it's always been done." Afterwards, she denied the statement, and [Italian] Foreign Minister Frattini called such reports "unfounded rumors." On the same day, a reliable source from the Italian secret service was quoted by ANSA, the Italian news agency, as saying that "The negotiations have been going on for days. We did what we had to do."
At that point, SISMI [the Italian secret service] protested against the leaks, which risked to sabotage the negotiations, and the [Italian] government imposed silence on all media.
According to to our source, the negotiations continued, and Salih Mutlak flew to Rome, "on a business trip." He remained in the Italian capital for about three weeks, and returned to Baghdad at the end of May with a suitcase containing five million dollars. The remainder of the nine million dollar ransom was to be delivered after the hostages were released.
On Sunday, June 6, Vatican representatives in Iraq said they were certain that the liberation of the three was only hours away.
The three Italians were left in a house in Abu Ghraib and their location was communicated to the Italian secret service. The plan was to make it appear like a military raid, but it didn't work out.
Enrico Piovesana
US admits to wrongly reporting decline in terrorist attacks
PTI Washington June 11: The United States has said it was correcting the report which wrongly concluded that terrorist acts had declined worldwide last year but denied any “manipulation or political distortion”.
“We will put out a corrected report,” the Secretary of State, General (retd) Colin Powell said on the `Patterns of Global Terrorism’ report.
“We didn’t look deeply enough into the data to realise there were inconsistencies in reporting,” he said.
“Errors crept in that frankly we did not catch here.”
Gen Powell, however, claimed “There was no attempt to mislead or cook the books in any way.”
“And our goal with respect to the annual terrorism report is to give the American people the facts. And we are rechecking those facts... and I think I will wait until I see the revised report before making any comment on the trends that are reflected in the revised report from last year’s report.”
The report, released in April, said attacks had declined last year to 190, the lowest level in 34 years, and dropped 45 per cent since 2001, the President, Mr George Bush’s first year in office.
http://www.navhindtimes.com/stories.php?part=news&Story_ID=06127
Thanks.
Health officials, law officers take part in biohazard training
The day-long seminars are for law enforcement and emergency personnel who would be the first on the scene if a chemical or biological incident-like a train wreck, a chemical explosion, or even a terror attack-happened in Bladen.
The Soviets were deeply involved in chemical and biological warfare, Little said, and since the fall of the Soviet Union, "many of those weapons stocks have since disappeared."
"We have no way of knowing whose hands they ended up in," he said.
The advantages of biological warfare-ease of transport and distribution-make a biological attack very attractive to terrorists.
"You might not realize it," he said, "but an outbreak of smallpox, anthrax or tularemia in a major population center could quickly spread through the entire country."
http://www.bladenjournal.com/articles/2004/06/11/news/news07.txt
Acquisition of western energy grids is possible for Russia
June 11, 2004 Posted: 14:32 Moscow time (10:32 GMT)
Head of Basic Element Oleg Deripaska proposed to discuss the course of energy reforms in Russia with all interested parties involved, including representatives of the Russian government, as the latter is known to hold a controlling block of shares in RAO Unified Energy System of Russia (RAO UES). Mr. Deripaska voiced his opinion at a meeting with journalists in Moscow yesterday. “I think, all participants of this meeting will be ready by September or October,” he added.
“We have already decided regarding the necessity of these reforms. So now we have to discuss their results,” the official said and noted that the final aim of these reforms was still obscure to him. “It is important that we decide what goals the government pursues here, and then, make a decision what needs to be changed and in which way.”
Energy reforms have already raised discussions several times. In particular, following a series of breakdowns at newly-reformed energy systems of the USA, Canada, the UK and Norway, experts and analysts began saying that the elimination of vertically-integrated energy companies would make the whole system less reliable. However, this wasn’t convincing enough for the authors of the energy reforms.
Now, the reforms have been slowed down by the monopoly carrying them out only by 50%. For example, the government still does not bother to control electrical networks and control centers that used to belong to RAO UES. According to the reform concept, this should be done by the government. Mr. Deripaska suggested a solution to this problem.
In his opinion, the above mentioned control functions over the electrical networks and control centers should be handed over to the Federal Energy Agency, i.e. to its separate department that will be created for this very purpose. In addition, the Head of Basic Element expressed his opinion that currently the energy generating industry of Russia needed no investments, as it still wasn’t used at full capacity.
The main threat that the divided Russian energy system might face is its inability to compete with major western companies most of which tend to consolidate now, Mr. Deripaska emphasized. There is a possibility of consolidated energy generating companies becoming acquired by major western companies, which contradicts Russia’s interests.
Major western energy generating grids tend to merge now, among which are European concerns EDF, Fortum, E.ON, and RWE. In Deripaska’s opinion, RAO UES of Russia should remain a strong company, capable of competing with other major energy companies, such as Irkutskenergo, Bashkenergo, Tatenergo, and Rosenergoatom.
In conclusion, Mr. Deripaska stated that Basic Element was ready to consider the possibility of acquiring 40% of Irkutskenergo, a stake that belongs to the government. Such decision will be made only after tender requirements are announced, and “if they turn out to be favorable for us,” the head of the company concluded. RosBusinessConsulting
Source URL: http://www.russiajournal.com/news/cnews-article.shtml?nd=44204
Saying some Prayers for you.
PRAYING right now for your Ruth...
Looks like Putin would rather have Bush in office:
Putin takes Bush's side against Democrats on Iraq
June 11, 2004 Posted: 10:49 Moscow time (06:49 GMT)
Russian President Vladimir Putin stepped into the U.S. political campaign on Thursday, saying the Democrats had "no moral right" to criticize President George W. Bush over Iraq. The Kremlin leader, answering a reporter's question in Sea Island, Georgia, suggested that the Democrats were two-faced in criticizing Bush on Iraq since it had been the Clinton administration that authorized the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia by U.S. and NATO forces.
The reporter had asked Putin to respond to U.S. press articles questioning Russia's place at the G8 feast of leading industrial countries. Putin brushed these off, saying such articles were part of an internal U.S. political debate.
He went on: "I am deeply convinced that President Bush's political adversaries have no moral right to attack him over Iraq because they did exactly the same. "It suffices to recall Yugoslavia. Now look at them. They don't like what President Bush is doing in Iraq."
Russia was adamantly opposed to the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, as it has been to the U.S.-led military operation Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein. At the same time, Putin forged a strong friendship with Bush by offering immediate support in the global fight against terrorism. Both men go out of their way now to avoid criticizing each other publicly. GAZETA.RU
Source URL: http://www.russiajournal.com/news/cnews-article.shtml?nd=44195
Tape: U.S. trying to replace Arab gov'ts
By MAGGIE MICHAEL
The Associated Press
6/11/2004, 7:27 p.m. ET
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — A purported audiotape from al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri, broadcast Friday on an Arab satellite station, accused the United States of trying to replace Arab governments through its plan for regional reforms.
The comments appeared to be in response to an agreement this week by the Group of Eight industrialized nations on a U.S. plan to promote democratic change in the Middle East.
"America has no relation with reform. What it is really looking for is to replace the existing regimes with new ones," said the voice on the tape, played on Al-Arabiya. "The so-called American reforms will not bring to us our independence or our dignity."
"As for the human rights they are talking about, they mean the human rights of criminals (to) humiliate the Muslim human being," the voice said.
Muslims and Arabs have recently been outraged by revelations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers, including forcing them to denounce Islam or perform acts forbidden within their religion, including eating pork, drinking liquor or masturbation.
Some also feel that the U.S.-led war on terrorism targets Islam because of the invasion of two Muslim countries, Afghanistan and Iraq, following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The tape said real reform must come from within the Arab people. "It starts by implanting the will to resist, in our souls and the souls of our children and the next generations," said the voice on the tape.
Editor-in-Chief Salah Negm refused to say how Al-Arabiya received the 10-minute audiotape. The station played about two minutes of the tape and said it would not broadcast more.
The CIA and other intelligence agencies are analyzing the tape to determine if it is al-Zawahri, said a U.S. official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The last tape believed to be from al-Zawahri, broadcast on Al-Jazeera satellite network on March 25, urged Pakistanis to overthrow President Pervez Musharraf. The CIA said that tape was probably authentic.
Middle East reforms have been a dominant topic in the region in recent months, climaxing this week with the G-8 agreement.
Most Arab countries were cool to the proposal, insisting that reforms must come from within and not be imposed by the West. Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the powerhouses of the region, strongly objected to outside reforms and chose not to attend the G-8 summit.
Al-Zawahri and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden are believed hiding in the craggy mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan. A dragnet involving thousands of troops has been hunting for them, as well as Taliban leader Mullah Omar and renegade Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/lateststories/index.ssf?/base/international-14/1086988170284010.xml
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