World Terrorism : Weapons of Disruption Onging...

Whereas we have no masses, it certainly would be seriously challenging to deliver a "weapon of mass destruction" in the vast majority of geographical areas in the American West, as well as in many areas in the East and South. For instance, Montana is approximately the size of Germany, yet the population hovers only around a million (we have one representative in the House). There is no "metropolitan" area anywhere around, though Spokane is about three hundred miles away. Wyoming has more sheep than people. Utah has Salt Lake City and a few nearby populous areas. Nevada has two populated regional areas, Las Vegas and Reno. North and South Dakota have, well, a few folks here and there. Idaho folks are few and far between. I swear you can drive from San Antonio to El Paso without seeing a city policeman, because I've done it several times. Then there are Arizona, New Mexico, eastern California, inter alia. The point is we have a few population points, while the rest of the states are empty excepted for isolated small communities.Thus, out West we probably need to talk more about "weapons of disruption." (Some folks say "weapons of mass disruption," but we have no masses!)

You must ask yourself: What would I do if I were a terrorist (or a terrorism preparedness instructor) looking into the ramifications of launching a rural terrorism attack? Personally, I would concentrate on considering the consequences of disruption rather than mass destruction. Here are a few scenarios you might want consider when your local rural emergency management/response group gathers to discuss terrorism exercises.

1) Wildland Fire Incidents: Incendiary (mostly wildland) warfare has been used by military strategists for at least 2500 years, over a thousand years before the use of gunpowder. The western U.S. is disrupted, seriously disrupted, every year by wildland fires. Quite a few are started by humans, accidentally and purposefully. Starting dozens of major fires in a dozen western states could be a brilliant line of attack if militants wished to disrupt America. Thousands of security personnel could do nothing and the perpetrator/s would probably never be implicated, much less captured. Are you prepared?

2) Railroad Chemical Incidents: Many railroad main lines go through tunnels. A few strategically placed armor-piercing shells in a series of chlorine cars, along with appropriately staged derailments leaving the leaking cars in the tunnels, could shut down many main line routes in the West. Spin-off scenarios are numerous. Ready?

3) Flammable Liquid Incidents: Bridges are not easily brought down from below and approaches to bridge support structures are often highly visible and randomly monitored. However, on CNN we all have seen many tanker truck accidents involving burning hydrocarbons which have made bridge structures unusable. How hard would it be to have a few terrorists steal trucks and drive them (as opposed to hijacking planes and flying them) to strategic bridges over wide rivers or narrow gorges, ignite the gasoline (or diesel or crude), block the approaches with other incendiary or chemical releases, and make the structures extremely dangerous and impassible to highway traffic? Gotcha!

There are many variations of these themes. You probably have or can make up many more plausible, novel, and easily implemented rural-specific attack scenarios. Design exercises around them. If you want to stop terrorist events you must think like a terrorist and quit fighting last year's war!

Frederick J. (Fred) Cowie, Ph.D. E-mail: fredcowie@aol.com Phone: (24 hr cell) 406-431-3531 Website: fredcowie.com

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1589009/posts

A Russian Ruse - Putin’s invitation to Hamas clarifies Russia’s unprincipled policies
NRO ^ | March 02, 2006 | Ilya Bourtman

Posted on 03/02/2006 9:08:40 PM MST by Tailgunner Joe

On March 3, Hamas envoys will arrive in Moscow. Their Russian hosts have prepared a banquet fit for a sultan. Gifts will be abundant. Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has offered to provide Hamas with foreign aid. There may even be shipments of everything from guns to helicopters. Moscow's position undercuts the strategy of U.S., European, and Israeli officials who had hoped that isolation would encourage moderation.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice remained composed in the face of Vladimir Putin's shocking invitation to the group. She merely demanded that Moscow "send a firm message," but privately the Bush Administration was irate. It was one thing for Hamas to receive invitations from international pariahs like Iran or Venezuela. And although Turkey's invitation was a disappointment, Prime Minister Erdogan's antics and acceptance of Islamist capital has long since made Ankara irrelevant to most U.S. or Middle Eastern policymakers. But Moscow was a member of the Quartet, and host of the 2006 G-8 Summit.

Israeli politicians were likewise caught off-guard. Hadn't Putin been the first Russian president ever to travel to Israel? In Tel Aviv last April he said, "[T]here is the will and desire on both sides to strengthen our friendship, trust and cooperation and to build a constructive partnership together." Hadn't trade relations between the two countries doubled under Putin's tenure? Hadn't senior delegations from both countries visited each other in the past several years, signing lucrative energy deals, swapping military technologies, and even sharing counter-terrorism intelligence? And hadn't attacks on Russia's theatres and schools created solidarity between two peoples plagued by Islamist terrorism? Many Israeli officials had come to trust Putin. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a friend of Putin's, told the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that Russia's "intentions had changed."

Reacting to Moscow's overture, Israeli cabinet minister Meir Sheetrit reflected widespread feelings of betrayal, telling Ha'aretz that Putin had "stabbed Israel in the back."

The Israelis were not the only ones duped by Putin. In recent years, Middle East analysts in the U.S. and Europe have viewed Russian-Israeli relations through rose-tinted glasses. Leading defense analysts published articles in nationwide Russian newspapers calling for expanded military cooperation between Moscow and Jerusalem, while in Israel, Ha'aretz and the Jerusalem Post sang Putin's praises. Even in Washington, typically sober Putin-watchers praised the Russian president for recognizing Israel as a "strategic ally." One researcher writing recently for the influential Middle East Quarterly asserted that Putin was pursuing a deliberately "pro-Israel" policy.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. Even as the Kremlin signed weapons deals with Jerusalem, the Russian government sold high-end surface-to-air missiles to Syria — a rogue nation which supports Hezbollah operations out of Lebanon. Of even greater danger, Russia continued construction of a nuclear reactor in Bushehr, Iran — even after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for Israel to be "wiped out from the map of the world." Throughout, Putin remained steadfast in his refusal to recognize Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations. Russian officials sought help from Israeli intelligence services in dealing with their "Chechen problem" while continuing to support terrorist organizations calling for the destruction of Israel.

If there is any silver-lining to Putin's invitation to Hamas, it is the exposure of Putin's true colors. Putin has crafted a two track, deliberately ambiguous policy towards the Middle East, allowing Russia to feign friendly relations with Israel while also developing competing interests with Arab countries in the Middle East. The Kremlin operates according to Lord Palmerston's old adage that "Nations have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies; only interests." While a clever strategy for a weakened Russia, Putin's duplicity poses serious dangers to the region.

This is not the first time that Putin has used Israel as a marionette, nor will it be the last. Only last April, having failed to stop the color revolutions sweeping through the former Soviet republics, and facing falling polling numbers, Putin asked Israeli officials if he could travel to Jerusalem. Putin's visit laundered his image, but not his policy. His latest offer to Hamas comes as Moscow seeks to reaffirm its standing as a major international actor.

So long as U.S., Israeli, and certain European statesmen believe that Putin shares their interests on matters of geopolitics, let alone energy security, they will see their interests undermined again and again. Moscow's gala for Hamas should serve as evidence to the West that Putin is as likely to be working against them as with them.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1588991/posts

Russia's covetous courtship
Washington Times ^ | March 2, 2006 | Ariel Cohen

Posted on 03/02/2006 8:35:58 PM MST by Tailgunner Joe

Similar to the Soviet era, Russia seeks to maximize its policy options in the Middle East, while restraining U.S. space for maneuver. The Soviet Union, and later Russia, have joined Iran in demanding that the U.S. withdraw militarily from the Persian Gulf, where it ensures the security of the world's prime oil supply and shipping lanes. A nuclear-armed Iran, allied with and armed by Russia and China, could become a regional challenger hostile to the U.S., its interests, and its allies in the region.

Today, Russia is the lead supplier for Iran's civilian nuclear efforts, while ignoring that country's military nuclear program. In December 2005, Russia announced it would sell Iran $700 million worth of TOR-M1 (SA-15) short-range surface to air missiles, and is now reportedly negotiating a sale of long-range anti-aircraft SA-10s (known by their Russian designation S-300). Buttressed by radars and computers, these missile systems could be arrayed in a nationwide air defense system, rendering future disarming air strikes all but impossible.

Russia also sold Iran a $1.2 billion nuclear reactor, Bushehr, to be completed in the fall of 2006. Russia plans to supply Iran as many as five more reactors at a cost of $8 billion to $10 billion, which can be used to produce fissile material for a nuclear weapons program.

Russia has trained hundreds of Iranian nuclear physicists and engineers, provided Tehran with ballistic missile technology, and launched an Iranian spy satellite. However, an Iran armed with nuclear missiles makes little sense for Moscow as it is likely to throw its weight around in Russia's own "back yard" -- the Caucasus, Central Asia and the oil-rich Caspian basin. By extension, Russia's actions placate Islamist extremists throughout the Middle East.

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

Granny's note:

Good comments on what these weapons are, in the comments of the above thread.

Maps are psoted in the comments:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1589084/posts

Pakistan - Taliban take control of govt buildings in Miramshah
DAWN.com ^ | March 3, 2006

Posted on 03/03/2006 12:24:49 AM MST by HAL9000

MIRAMSHAH, March 2: Tension gripped the North Waziristan agency on Thursday as Taliban took over government buildings, occupied the area’s telephone exchange and patrolled the streets of the tribal agency’s regional headquarters.
Eyewitnesses and government officials said that after Wednesday’s heavy gunbattle between security forces and Taliban remnants, a large number of families started moving to other places in the troubled agency.

Sources said that the Taliban elements had taken over the telephone exchange in Miramshah.

The exchange had already been shut down by the military to disrupt communication between militants.

The Taliban also took over the irrigation department building, snatched government vehicles and occupied rooftops of buildings near the main market.

Political authorities pulled out paramilitary troops from the main bazaar as the Taliban took positions at key points in the town. Paramilitary forces restricted their movement to bases and government buildings.

Mirali and other parts of the tribal region, were also tense, although calm, the sources said.

Scared shopkeepers in Miramshah pulled shutters as hundreds of militants entered the town on trucks fitted with on machine-guns at noon, shouting “God is Great” and “Death to America and its friends”. Offices remained closed and traffic was very thin in the area.

“There is chaos. The administration has left the area at the mercy of the Taliban,” said a security official.

Governor NWFP Khalilur Rehman told Dawn in the evening in Peshawar his administration in Miramshah had been able to bring the situation under control by getting a local jirga involved.

“The jirga went to those people and asked them to come down. They have since abandoned their positions and have walked away. This was the right approach. For the first time a political process was used to defuse the situation and it worked,” the governor said.

But a government official said that a few of the Taliban continued to guard the telephone exchange while others were waiting it out at the Gulshan-i-Uloom Madressah just across the road.

Asked who was in control of Miramshah, the official said: “No-one really. The Taliban have (apparently) left, yet they are still there, and the government is there but is not in total control.”

On Wednesday night, suspected militants fired rockets on troops who responded with artillery fire.

It may be mentioned that security forces hit a suspected compound in Dandy Sidgai area near Afghan border on Wednesday, killing more than 40 people and wounding 30 others, which triggered clashes in Miramshah.

Independent sources contradicted government’s claims that most of the dead were foreigners and said that residential compounds had been targeted from helicopter gunships.

A doctor said that more than 15 wounded, a number of women among them, were treated for multiple injuries in the agency headquarters hospital in Miramshah and all of them were locals.

“We did not treat a single foreigner,” said the doctor.

Official sources said that residents of Dandy Sidgai had found a gun and a door of a military helicopter which might have been hit by militants’ fire.

Good source for formulas for skin care:

http://www.snowdriftfarm.com/form_basic.html

How To Make Infusions

How to Make an Oil Infusion

Making an oil infusion is a very simple process, but you must use a good quality oil.
I like to use olive oil and jojoba oil. It is advisable to know where your herbs
came from...of course, homegrown is always best. I think of it in terms of making a tea with oil, instead of water.

Take 2 cups of dried herb and place in a crockpot. Cover with vegetable oil.
With crockpot set on low, allow to infuse for 2 hours. You might also try the window sill method, wherein you decant the oil of choice over the herbs in a glass bottle or jar and allow to set in a sunny window sill for about one week. Once infused, strain oil through a fine filter. I use a wire mesh strainer lined with unbleached coffee filters or muslin. It is best to work with dried herb as then you do not have to worry about the potential
of bacteria forming as you do with fresh greens. Fresh greens contain water, and as we all know, water is the basis of life -- including bacteria's life.

Herbal Water Infusions

Here are a few infusions you might consider trying when you have the proper herbs at hand.

An infusion is similar to a tea. Pour boiling water over an herb/s and allow it to steep. This will extract the active ingredients. Keep your infusions covered while steeping to keep the loss (through evaporation)
of important elements to a minimum.

Mint Cleanser

a wonderful skin stimulant!

2 tspns fractionated coconut oil
1 tspn mint infusion
1/4 tspn apple cider vinegar
Mix the oil with the mint infusion and vinegar. Shake.

Leaves skin soft and refreshed. Great during hot, humid weather.
Lemon Balm Infusion This mild infusion is good for oily skin. Rinse skin 3x daily.
Fennel Cleansing Lotion Good for all skin types.

1 tspn fennel infusion (1 c. boiling water to 1 tbspn crushed fennel seed)
1 tspn honey
2 tbspns buttermilk

Mix together and smooth lotion over skin to cleanse.
Rub gently. Wipe off with cotton ball soaked in fennel
infusion only (no honey/buttermilk). Pat dry.

Laura, a poweful article........Thank you for writing it and for doing all the work that went into it.....Well done.
granny

March 1, 2006: Me and Terrorist 007:
Tracking a terrorist through cyberspace

By Laura Mansfield

It's been two years since I first locked horns with a cyber jihadi by
the name of Terrorist 007.

I was working as the assistant director for the Northeast Intelligence
Network (NEIN) and a writer for World Net Daily when I ran into
Terrorist 007, or Irhabi 007, on the old Ansar forum, an Arabic language
message board frequently used by Al Qaeda sympathizers. (I've since left
NEIN and am now on my own at LauraMansfield.com.)

Irhabi 007 was bragging about his hacking abilities, in an attempt to
weasel his way into the "in crowd" of vetted jihadis. Over the next few
months, I watched as Terrorist 007 began to establish himself as an
expert, and gain the respect of the fellow jihadis.

I began building a dossier on 007, just as I was doing on Abu Banan,
the apparent director of Global Islamic Media.

One thing that stood out about Terrorist 007 initially was that he
posted primarily in English. He was apparently learning Arabic, because
over the next two years, he began to shift to posting more and more in
Arabic.

As time went on, 007 became more and more brazen. He began to post
links to cracked commercial software programs, as well as to various jihadi
audio and video propaganda files. He gradually began to expand into
posting detailed instructional material on making suicide bomb vests,
improvised explosive devices, and other terrorist tools.

007 was always one of the first to post links to Voice of Jihad (Sawt
al Jihad) and Al Battar, publications created by Al Qaeda of the Arabian
Peninsula (Saudi Arabia) and distributed by Global Islamic Media.

Over the months, it appeared that 007 was making inroads into an "inner
circle" of internet jihadis, including Abu Banan.

007's identity was elusive. At times he claimed to be in the United
States; other times he claimed to be in the UK. His tendency to use
British spellings of words led credence to theories that he was in the UK.

As time went on, Terrorist 007 continued to amass a huge collection of
Al Qaeda propaganda films, and as one website after another was pulled
down by authorities, he began to appropriate server space belonging to
unsuspecting companies and institutions who left open doors on their
webservers by enabling anonymous FTP uploads. One of the first to be
appropriated by 007 was a server at George Washington University in
Washington DC.

When Nick Berg was beheaded in Iraq in April 2004, Irhabi 007 had one
of the most extensive collections of links to videos of the beheading.

The bandwidth storm that followed the release of the beheading video
combined with the public outcry over the brutality of the murder brought
down the Ansar website as well as several other jihadi forums; others
went to a password protected mode to limit access.

By the time American hostage Paul Johnson was kidnapped and beheaded in
Saudi Arabia in June, 007 was an integral part of the network
responsible for distributing the video films, "borrowing" server space from an
unsuspecting California company, slipping in through the anonymous FTP
security hole.

It was only a few weeks later that I discovered Terrorist 007
"borrowing" web space from the State of Arkansas. I made the discovery during my
weekly terrorist update on Ernie Brown's syndicated radio show America
at Night while checking jihadi sites for last minute updates.

When I noticed that 007 was posting jihadi material on the servers of
the Arkansas Department of Transportation, I immediately notified the
authorities through the chain of command at the Northeast Intelligence
Network

But since that rarely brought any results, I also went directly to the
media, tipping off a friend at CNN about my find.

The initial press release from NEIN has been removed from their
servers, but can be accessed through their Google cache here

A more extensive set of links that NEIN published is located here

Among them were files highly sought after by jihadis, including the
al-Qaida films "Badr al Riyadh," "American Hell in Iraq," "Russian Hell,"
"Martyrs of the Confrontation" and "Wills of Martyrs." Other files
posted included the beheading video of Nick Berg, as well as audio and
video clips of various al-Qaida leaders, including Osama Bin Laden, Ayman
al-Zawahiri and Abu Musa'ab al-Zarqawi.

The files were located at ftp://www.ahtd.state.ar.us/ incoming/GIS/007
and at ftp://www.ahtd.state.ar.us/ incoming/GIS/ALQA3EDAH

Within hours, the FBI had confiscated the server. The ensuing publicity
brought me to the attention of Terrorist 007. He began posting to me in
English on the jihadi forums, and at one point he even told his cyber
friends that he planned to find me and marry me.

In late summer of 2004, 007 informed his buddies on the boards that he
was going to be going on a trip to the Bahamas, and advised them not to
worry about his absence from the boards. In a couple of weeks, true to
his word, Terrorist 007 was back on the boards.

He began expanding his horizons, putting up numerous websites
containing extensive libraries of both propaganda videos and audios, and of
instructional materials teaching terrorism techniques, how to make more and
more destructive killing devices, and basic hacking techniques as well.
For many months, Terrorist 007 was a source of "WAREZ", pirated
commercial software. At one point, the ever helpful 007 posted ripped copies
of Arabic language translation software to help those who needed
assistance in translation!

By spring of 2005, 007 was feeling the bandwidth pinch again, and began
stealing credit card numbers to use in purchasing domain names and web
hosting for his websites. His favorite technique seemed to be keystroke
loggers. On many occasions, my virus protection intercepted attempts by
007 to download a keystroke logger to my company as I monitored his
websites.

In May and June 2005, 007 had posted maps of the London transit system,
as well as photographs of various tube terminals in London on his
websites. It is unknown at this time if there was any connection between
these posts and the London bombings in July 2005.

Then, last fall, shortly after Joel Hinnrichs committed suicide with an
explosives vest at Oklahoma University, Terrorist 007 abruptly
disappeared. Some analysts even speculated that Hinnrichs was 007, although
that seemed unlikely. It seemed more likely that 007 had disappeared from
view, and was actually using a cyber alias. This theory gained
credibility after law enforcement discovered that Hinnrichs had downloaded the
instructions for creating his explosives from one of 007's websites.

His absence was noted on the jihadi boards; many of his fellow jihadis
speculated that he had gone to Iraq to participate in the jihad there.

What we know now is that Terrorist 007 was arrested in October 2005
near London. His real name is Younis Tsouli. His arrest came as part of a
series of arrests that began with a raid in Bosnia. Tsouli had
apparently been in email contact with the men arrested in that terror raid, and
in late October, British police arrested Tsouli and two other men under
the Terrorism Act.

Tsouli was charged with ten charges "including conspiracy to murder,
conspiracy to cause an explosion, conspiracy to obtain money by
deception, fundraising and possession of articles for terrorist purposes."
Police allege that Tsouli and his coherts intended to detonate a huge car
bomb in central London.

A senior Scotland Yard source said: "We are convinced that if we had
not acted swiftly a massive bomb, designed to kill and maim hundreds of
innocent people, would have been set off in London, probably before the
end of the year and possibly during the Christmas rush."

According to the Sunday Mirror, the Tsouli is accused of the following:
Possession of a video showing how to make a car bomb. Possession a
video showing a number of places in Washington DC and including a CRBN
(chemical, radiological, biological and nuclear) vehicle. Conspiracy to
murder. Conspiracy to cause an explosion. Conspiracy to cause a public
nuisance, conspiracy to obtain money by deception and other offences under
the Terrorism Act.

As law enforcement began to examine Tsouli's computer, they found
pictures of several locations in Washington D.C., according to Scotland
Yard, as well as computerized slides demonstrating how to make a car bomb
and a DVD explaining how to create a suicide bomber belt.

From other information on the computer, police realized that they had
managed to finally apprehend the elusive Terrorist 007.

The role that Irhabi 007 played in the growth of the global jihad
should not be underestimated. He was very active in recruiting new members
to the jihad, and provided valuable expertise to the group. His
tutorials on how jihadis can conceal themselves through the use of anonymous
proxy servers have no doubt helped many terrorists elude detection over
the last several years.

The instructional material he provided has almost certainly resulted in
the deaths of innocents.

Terrorist 007 is now in custody. But dozens of his followers remain,
and several have already begun to carry on where he left off.

Related links: World Net Daily: Al-Qaida hijacks Arkansas website:
Violent propaganda distributed via government system Washington Post: Al
Qaeda Messages Posted on U.S. Server WashIngton Times: Al-Qaida hacker
hits Arkansas system San Francisco Chronicle: Iraq's tech-savvy
insurgents are finding supporters and luring suicide-bomber recruits over the
Internet

For more translations and news on terrorism, visit
http://www.lauramansfield.com

March 3, 2006 Anti-Terrorism News

(Iraq) Gunmen kills dozens of Iraqi Shiites
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200603/s1583765.htm
Dozens of suspected Sunni insurgents have attacked a small town near
Baghdad, killing at least 25 people. Police have recovered the bodies of
21 mainly Shiite Muslim migrant workers.

Gunmen kill 18 workers east of Baghdad
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/03/03/iraq.main/index.html
Iraqi capital under daytime vehicular curfew

U.S. Intel: Qaeda Plotting 'Big Bang'
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/02/iraq/main1364828.shtml
U.S. officials tell CBS News that intelligence has picked up reports
that al Qaeda in Iraq is planning "Big Bang," spectacular attack against
either single high-profile target or multiple targets simultaneously

(Jordan) Prison riots show al-Qaida sympathy
http://www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060302/NEWS/60302027/1001

Libya Frees All Jailed Muslim Brotherhood Members
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=78643&d=3&m=3&y=2006&pix=world.jpg&category=World

(Israel) Terrorist Kassam Rockets Smashes into Strategic Installation
http://www.arutzsheva.com/news.php3?id=99600

Suicide car bomb attack in Afghanistan, Canadian casualties feared
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/March/subcontinent_March131.xml&section=subcontinent

(Spain) Massacre suspects could stay in custody for two years
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=81&story_id=28083&name=Massacre+suspects+could+stay+in+custody+for+two+years

Hamas leaders visit Moscow
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-2068123,00.html

Hamas: No Intention to Recognize Israel
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RUSSIA_HAMAS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=INTERNATIONAL

Iran: New Explosion in Ahwaz
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.271507371&par=0

Iran Can Build Nuclear Bomb Within 5 Years â€” Russian Think Tank
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/03/03/iranrally.shtml

How a 9/11 conspirator gave himself away
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/02/moussaoui.school/index.html
Flight managers explain the many red flags raised by Moussaoui

Anatomy of Attack on Pakistan's U.S. Consulate
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1680848
Blast so powerful that it blew 3-ton armored U.S. car 40 feet into air
and into Hotel parking lot, and caused six-foot crater in cement

Commentary (UAE Ports Issue): Ports and pitchforks
http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20060302-092216-5892r.htm

Bill Clinton gave advice to UAE officials on ports
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-port4648092mar03,0,6420466.story?coll=ny-top-headlines
Ex-president told ports firm to submit to a review, referred execs to
PR company that backs Sen. Clinton.

Do the three of us just love dark, scary, real life stories? Put Kane, the scientist and the mafia guys all together, what a story? LOL

Dark deeds on Moscow nights
By Tsotne Bakuria
March 3, 2006

The murder trial is held behind closed doors. The excuse? To protect "state secrets."
This Kafka-esque drama will be played out in Moscow during the next few weeks and in the end, we will probably never know who shot former Forbes journalist Paul Klebnikov to death on a summer evening in 2004 in Russia's capital because that's how the city works.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has called Moscow one of the worlds's "five most murderous cities." Klebnikov ran afoul of someone in power, but the defendants -- all Chechnians -- are not guilty. Why? Because the victim said so. The killer was Russian, he said, with his last dying breath.
Contract murders in Moscow are as common as jaywalking in Manhattan. Under the present government of Yuri Lushzkov, the "line my pockets or get wacked" mayor of Moscow, the city is rife with crime. It's not difficult to run afoul of the Mayor.
Legitimate businesses have packed up and left, all too happy to admit defeat. Even Donald Trump -- fearless and risk-taking -- won't get his big toe wet. When a famous Moscow hotel was looking for investors, Mr. Trump reportedly said, "Do I have crazy written on my forehead?"
Moscow is worse than Chicago in the 1920s, complete with mafia, hate crimes, gun and drug smuggling, gambling, extortion, kidnappings, murder, rape, robberies and arson.
The Moscow underworld is a snake-pit of greed and corruption, tolerated -- or perhaps encouraged -- by Mr. Lushzkov and immune to prosecution. Doug Steele, a Canadian entrepreneur who owns a Moscow nightclub, recently estimated he paid $1 million in bribes to police, officials and the Russian mafia. At least he's still alive.
That brings up the courage of Paul Klebnikov. Russian by descent, the handsome young New Yorker arrived in Moscow to start up the Russian edition of Forbes. He was brave enough to write about the oligarths, the corruption, the mafia, and it cost him his life. His family tried to get the murder case opened to press, but they were denied. Grief is a powerful weapon, but Moscow is a cold and callous place.
Now, a group of journalists have banded to do their own investigative reporting on Klebnikov's murder. I hope they succeed, but chances are slim. A free and open press is the only hope. But in Moscow, unsolved murders -- and court cases behind closed doors -- are the norm.
Last August, 36-year-old Chevalier Nusuyev, a wealthy Russian businessman suspected by U.S. authorities of fixing the skating results in the 2002 Winter Olympics, was shot dead in his Moscow apartment. In September, Iksander Khafloni, a reporter for Radio Free Euope, was murdered. He was investigating the Russian military's human-rights abuses in Chechnia. Two months later, in November 2005, prominent Italian businessman Pier Paolo Antinori, 56, was murdered in an "apparent robbery," Moscow shorthand for a contract hit. That same month, American Language Center director Vardon Kushnir, 35, was beaten to death in his Moscow apartment.
Red Square was named in the medieval centuries because it was the center for mass executions of dissidents and political foes of the czar. First, they cut off your arms, legs, tongue and then the head. How much longer can Red Square under the mayor of Moscow exist?
At least, for now, I'm hoping a few tongues -- like Paul Klebnikov -- will not be silenced.

Tsotne Bakuria is a former member of the Georgian Parliament and a visiting scholar at George Washington University.

http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20060302-092217-3041r.htm

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\03\03\story_3-3-2006_pg721

Friday, March 03, 2006
Lahore on high alert

* Security arrangements made for US Consulate, British Council, Iranian
Consulate, other buildings and installations
* Lahore's entry, exit points sealed, police checking people entering
city
* Law enforcement personnel start arresting religious activists after
12:00am on Friday

By Shahnawaz Khan

LAHORE: Law enforcement personnel have declared Lahore on high alert
after
Thursday's suicide bomb attack in Karachi and the opposition's strike
call
after Friday prayers against the publishing of caricatures of Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) by Danish newspapers.

Special arrangements have been made for security within and surrounding
the
US Consulate, British Council, Iranian Consulate and other buildings
and
installations in coordination with security officials already present
at the
buildings.

The city's entry and exit points including railway stations have been
sealed
and officials concerned are checking people entering Lahore in groups.
Lahore's law enforcement personnel will start arresting religious
activists
(who may create trouble in Lahore) after 12:00am on Friday.

Punjab Law Minister Basharat Raja said on Thursday that nobody had been
arrested so far in connection with the strike call. "Nobody will be
allowed
to violate the law and disturb the peace. Security forces will punish
all
violators," he added.

Separately, Lahore Police has set up its security control room in the
Capital Police Chief's (CPC) office. The CPC also called a meeting on
Thursday to look through the police plan for security in the city on
Friday.

Nayab Haider, Lahore Police spokesman, told Daily Times that
authorities had
deployed more than 9,000 policemen across the city to keep a check on
violence. Similarly, more than 3,000 Rangers personnel had also been
deployed to support the police, he added.

Authorities had doubled security at all foreign high commissions,
consulates
and installations in Lahore, he said, adding that senior police
officials
were in contact with foreign representatives in this regard.

He said authorities had called in more than 200 special Punjab
Constabulary
commandos trained in riot management to keep the strike in control.

The spokesman said authorities in Lahore had arranged for rubber
bullets,
batons, safety shields and teargas canisters along with gasmasks from
the
Multan and Faisalabad divisions and Punjab Constabulary. He said all
policemen had been ordered to punish people indulging in violence,
especially on The Mall and other important locations.

Similarly, many plainclothesmen and policemen with video cameras would
also
be deployed to monitor law and order, he added.

Special instructions have also been issued to all shopping malls,
restaurants, hotels and recreational areas to arrange for special
security
arrangements besides police presence. The administrations of the
above-mentioned buildings have started searching people and cars being
parked on the premises.

Special lists of religious as well as political activists have been
given to
officials concerned. The Bomb Disposal Squad, Civil Defence, Rescue
1122 and
Fire Brigade officials' leave has been cancelled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How sad that this is happening all over the world.

Note the video camera, can we do nothing that is not on film today?

Pray that our President stays safe today.

From terrorist to a fighter of evil

March 04, 2006

A COMMANDER of Asia's most feared terror organisation who betrayed his comrades has helped capture 12 key terrorists in the past year.

Nasir bin Abbas -- the one-time lynchpin of Jemaah Islamiyah -- has spoken for the first time about his new life helping track down the very men he used to train.

The former top JI leader, weapons trainer and Afghanistan veteran of six years is now a full-time consultant to Indonesia's crack anti-terror squad, Detachment 88.

In an exclusive interview with The Saturday Daily Telegraph, the softly spoken former terror chief revealed he plays a leading role in counter-terror operations in the region.

The Malaysian-born Mr Abbas was arrested during a round-up of JI suspects in 2003 and spent 10 months in a Jakarta jail.

It is not clear how it was he came to roll over but he reappeared as a consultant to authorities with duties including talking to arrested JI members, encouraging them to open up to interrogators and re-educating them.

On October 1 last year, when suicide bombers walked into three Bali restaurants and detonated themselves, Mr Abbas was on the plane that night headed to Bali along with Detachment 88 chiefs.

"My duty is to re-educate the JI members who get arrested and to open their minds, to get them talking, to give them Islamic advice. I know what's inside their mind," he said.

"Most of them are mistaken about jihad, about fighting, about who is their real enemy. I explain to them the true understanding about jihad, most of them realise they are wrong. Then they open their mind and talk to the police," he says.

The 37-year-old is not afraid that his new role could lead to his death.

"I am worried but not afraid. As a human of course I do have a worry but I am not afraid," he says.

Mr Abbas, whose sister is married to Bali bomber commander Mukhlas, who is on death row for his role in the 2002 nightclub attacks, was in charge of terror group Mantiqi 3, which covered areas of the southern Phillipines, the Indonesian provinces of Sulawesi and Kalimantan and Malaysian Sabah.

He was sworn into the role, he says, in late 2001, by JI spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir and ran terrorist training camps in the southern Phillipines. Mr Abbas is also an Afghan war veteran, having spent six years there.

Abbas says that JI's suicide bombers from the first Bali bombing through to the second are motivated by the thought of becoming martyrs and ascending to heaven.

Last deadly second: Page 23

http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,18338354-5001021,00.html

This is our county. Hubby has had this over a week now.
Flu virus takes hold of county

By ROBERT HORNE
editor@thecherokeescout.com
Coughs, high fevers, sore throats and runny noses are running rampant on residents of Cherokee County.
Local health officials have confirmed that a late-arriving influenza virus is taking its toll on western North Carolina.
Janet Kernea of Murphy Medical Center said the Urgent Care Center averaged six to eight positive flu screens per day last week. The emergency room also is seeing about the same number a day.
Emergency room director Dr. Mark Walters said that the flu is just getting to the area.
“This year, the flu moved from the western part of the country to the eastern coast,” he said.
County Health Director Elaine Russell also has seen more reported flu cases.
“We are starting to see an increase of confirmed cases of flu through Urgent Care, the hospital and overall in western North Carolina,” Russell said. “There has been a late-emerging flu season nationwide, and it appears we are following suit.”
North Carolina is listed in the “widespread” zone for influenza, moving from the “regional” zone where it was last week, according to the Center for Disease Control’s influenza Web site.
The flu virus has taken a toll on county schools. School health coordinator Sue Lynn Ledford said absentee rates have gone up in the past few weeks, but the numbers are not unusual in flu season. Ledford added that a lot of kids are leaving during the day.
“I don’t think we are above the curve with our absentee rate, although it is high right now,” she said.
Both Walters and Urgent Care Center physician assistant William Kelly have reported seeing more children come down with the flu this year.
The good news is local officials are reporting this influenza strain is milder than in year’s past. Walters said the symptoms do not appear to be as severe, and Russell said it has been a relatively mild year for the flu across the United States.
Russell added more good news, or at least good news for those not afraid of a little pinprick. The health department, at 228 Hilton St. in Murphy, still has shots available. The shot costs $25. The health department accepts Medicare Part B.
“We have a few shots remaining, and we encourage people to stop by and partake,” she said. “There has not been not an increased request due to the late emergence of flu in the United States.”
If the flu bug has already taken hold, remember to get plenty of rest, drink plenty of liquids, avoid using tobacco and alcohol, and take medications to relieve the symptoms, according to the CDC.

http://www.thecherokeescout.com/news/topstory.html

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