Posted on 02/26/2007 4:18:14 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
Thanks to Milford for this report, this is the end of it.....
He did say, however, that FBI and Homeland Security officers have
served search warrants around the country on suspected terrorists
and found school bus route schedules and information on public
school systems.
In the bulletin Barnett cautioned "sometimes schools are caught
completely off guard by events they may think may never happen to
them."
US and Israel conduct major missile defence exercise
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp?j=79913592&p=799y3856&n=79913884&x=
18/03/2007 - 4:16:23 PM
US and Israel conduct major missile defence exercise
Israel and the US are conducting a large-scale missile defence
exercise aimed at combining their systems, American and Israeli
officials said today, as both countries warn that Iran could obtain
nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
The operation, code-named Juniper Cobra, is taking place in the Negev
desert in southern Israel with thousands of American and Israeli
troops.
Both sides described the timing as routine, denying a direct
connection to the Iran threat.
Israeli and US forces are testing new ways to deal with missiles
capable of carrying nuclear, chemical and biological warheads,
according to military officials. The United States is Israel's closest
ally, providing about £1.1 billion a year in military assistance and
co-ordinating many aspects of defence policy.
Stewart Tuttle, the US Embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv, would not
directly say if the goal was to counter a potential nuclear threat.
"It is a computer simulation exercise designed to test the
interoperability of the air defence system," he said.
"The air defence can protect you against whatever happens to be on the
warhead."
Both Israel and the US have expressed concern about Iran's nuclear
programme.
Yemen, from Nepotism to Internal Jihad
http://armiesofliberation.com/archives/2007/03/17/yemen-from-nepotism-to-internal-jihad/
3/17/2007
Yemen, from Nepotism to Internal Jihad
The upper levels of the Yemeni military, judiciary and intelligence
services are inculcated with hard core Salafism, and many aspects of
Yemeni state institutions support jihaddist campaigns all over the
world, including Iraq. It is in this context that the Yemeni Ministry
of Defense recently published a fatwa on its website authorizing and
obligating the use of deadly force against the Believing Youth, a
small band of Shiite Zaidi rebels that has been battling the
government on and off since 2004. Essentially Yemen's military
leadership declared a jihad on the group.
Yemeni President Saleh's nephews, relatives and tribesmen make up the
leadership of Yemen's military and security forces. Presidential
relative General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar is leading the assault on the
Shiite rebels. Al-Ahmar is the powerful commander of Yemen's North
West military region and a reputed Salafi who recruited fighters for
Osama bin Laden in the 1980's.
In the current round of fighting, the Yemeni military has augmented
its ranks with child soldiers, tribesmen and Jihaddists. Several
induction centers have been opened and local media report children as
young as 15 have been given weapons and sent to the front with no
training. Tribesmen from President Saleh's tribe, the Hashid
Confederation have also volunteered and been inducted for service in
the thousands. As the Believing Youth are from the Bakil Tribal
Confederation, military deployment of tribal irregulars has increased
the threat of all out tribal warfare.
Yemeni Jihaddists, unlike Yemen's child soldiers, are extremely well
trained. Many are veterans of prior conflicts in Afghanistan,
Chechnya, Bosnia and other Jihaddist campaigns. Some currently receive
terrorist training in Yemen, reportedly with the aid of some high
level military commanders. Saleh's use of Salafist proxies dates back
at least to Yemen's 1994 civil war when Jihaddists targeted Southern
Socialist forces that had been labeled as apostates.
In 2007, a variety of Salafi Jihaddists joined Yemen's military
efforts against the rebels even before the Defense Ministry published
the fatwa. These included members of the Abyan Aden Islamic Army and
its leader Khalidabdul Nabi according to local reports. (In 2003, the
Yemeni government reported to the U.S. that Nabi was dead when he was
in fact released from custody.)
In February, Yahya al-Houthi, exiled Member of Parliament for the
Sa'ada region and brother of rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi,
reported that "foreign gangs that escaped Egypt, Jordan, Syria, (and)
Somalia" were also fighting against the Believing Youth. Clearly
President Saleh and General al-Ahmar have sacrificed significant
command and control capacity by unleashing roving bands of Salafi
Jihaddists in the region populated by Shiite civilians. The potential
for indiscriminate targeting of civilians remains high.
Some of Saddam's former henchmen are also alongside the Yemeni
military in Sa'ada. Numerous Iraq generals were recruited into the
Yemeni military in 2003 from among the nearly thirty thousand Iraqi's
who fled to Yemen including high level Baathists. The Iraqi insurgency
is thought to maintain a significant base in Yemen, and Yemenis
comprise one of the largest contingents of foreign fighters in Iraq.
Yemeni law does not criminalize violent acts committed beyond its
borders as long as they occur in a country deemed "Muslim" and
"occupied" and can be classified as Jihad.
In Yemen's fractured authoritarianism, some power centers are co-opted
by Salafists and others are not, leading to an often irrational,
contradictory governmental policy. For example, the regime granted
amnesty to the Believing Youth in 2005 and then itself violated the
terms, a governmental committee found. Security forces systematically
continued to arrest and imprison them after the amnesty, the rebels
reported. Military members occupied rebel homes. Soldiers' physically
and sometimes intimately inspected Zaidi women in markets. The rebels
turned to the Governor of Sa'ada for help, and when none was
forthcoming, they sought refuge in the mountains. (The Yemeni
government subsequently disbanded the committee, accusing it of bias.)
As military causalities rise to the dismay of Yemenis, public sympathy
is also focused on the civilians in Sa'ada. The military has targeted
the rebels with notoriously imprecise weaponry, including Katuysha
missiles, destroying civilian homes and property. Currently the Yemeni
regime, as it did in 2005, is blocking shipments of food, oil and
medicine to the region. It has cut all telecommunications. Over 10,000
citizens are estimated to be internal refugees and without shelter.
Wounded civilians have little medical care as the hospitals are
overwhelmed with military casualties. Food is in critically short
supply. The siege of Sa'ada, while intended to weaken the rebel
logistics, can also be seen as a policy of collective punishment.
Since fighting began in 2004, the totality of Zaidism has been under
attack. The Yemeni regime has prohibited some mainstream Zaidi
religious literature, replaced Zaidi preachers with Salafis at
gunpoint, banned some Zaidi religious festivals, and those in civil
society charged with supporting the rebellion receive harsh sentencing
as contrasted with al-Qaeda elements which routinely receive short
sentences, amnesty or manage to escape multiple times.
Zaidi and other schools have been closed as "extremist" but Wahabbi
ones are flourishing. Jihaddists making their way to Iraq seem to have
little difficulty hopping a Yemenia flight to Damascus; however
several journalists and opposition politicians have been prohibited at
the airport from leaving the country. With the recent outbreak of
clashes in Sa'ada, the regime cracked down on journalists reporting
the Sa'ada events. The military's website accused prominent editor
Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani, among others, of supporting the rebellion,
which in the context of the fatwa legitimizes his murder. Some Salafi
mosque preachers recently increased their rhetoric against Zaidis in
general, reportedly on orders from the regime.
The repetitive wars in Sa'ada and the broader actions of the state
targeting Zaidism can be seen as part of a systematic effort to
eliminate the only effective barrier to the full domination of
Salafism in Yemen, in both the religious and political arenas. However
sectarian tensions have been imposed on Yemenis rather than rising
spontaneously from Yemeni society. While Salafism is gaining in
popularity and is entrenched in the overt and covert power centers in
Yemen, Shafi Sunnis comprise about 60% of Yemenis. Zaidi Shia (who
make up 30% of Yemenis) and Shafi Sunnis are both moderate
denominations which historically have had excellent relations. However
the growing influence of dedicated Salafists in the military,
judiciary and the intelligence services has had a chilling effect on
the previously open sense of religious pluralism in Yemen.
All states have the right to a monopoly on the use of force and
President Saleh, declaring no prospect of further negotiations, has
vowed to crush the rebel group. What remains to be seen is if Sa'ada's
Zaidi population and Zaidism in Yemen will be crushed as well.
Doubts Over Afghan Kidnap Claim
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18032007/140/doubts-afghan-kidnap-claim.html
Doubts Over Afghan Kidnap Claim
Sunday March 18, 02:32 PM
Taliban rebels say they have released a kidnapped Italian journalist
and his translator - two days after saying they murdered his driver.
But government officials are sceptical over claims that Daniele
Mastrogiacomo, who writes for La Repubblica, is free. The journalist
was abducted in Afghanistan two weeks ago.
Taliban guerrilla Ibrahim Hanifi said Mr Mastrogiacomo and his
translator would be freed if the Afghan government agreed to release
three Taliban prisoners.
However, the Italian government said they have no reason to believe he
has been released.
A spokesman said: "We have seen reports that he has been handed over
to a third party of tribal chiefs. That is not a liberation.
"He has probably been handed over to people who have the task of
verifying whether certain conditions have been met and whether to free
him or not."
Mr Mastrogiacomo and his two colleagues were seized in the lawless
southern province of Helmand.
The Taliban claimed he had confessed to spying for British troops,
many of whom are stationed in Helmand.
His newspaper denied he was a spy, and said the Karachi-born man had
been writing for it since 1980.
Mr Mastrogiacomo appeared in a video released last Wednesday,
appealing to the Italian government to work for his release.
Iraq arrests 'senior Qaeda financier'
Sun Mar 18, 10:35 AM ET
Iraqi forces have arrested an Iraqi-born Palestinian suspected of acting as a financier for the Al-Qaeda militant network, military spokesman Brigadier General Qassim Mussawi said Sunday.
Mussawi said Mahmud Hamed Kamal al-Mathi -- also known as "Abu Qutada the Palestinian" -- was seized by commandos from the Iraqi Army's 4th Brigade on Saturday in Bab al-Moadham, a district of central Baghdad.
In a video of the suspect's interrogation shown to reporters, the 24-year-old bearded militant confirms his arrest and admits he received money from outside Iraq to fund insurgent attacks.
"We found him with CDs, special evidence and documents related to the Al-Qaeda network, and in his initial interrogation he admitted many crimes against the Iraqi people," Mussawi said.
Mathi was born in Iraq to Palestinian refugee parents.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070318/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestqaeda
Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
IRNA: Science Owes Its Existence to the 'Islamic Culture'
Mohammad, the sanctifier of science
Tehran, March 18, IRNA
Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)-Science
The Great Prophet of Islam turned the attention of his followers towards the study of nature and its laws, to understand them and appreciate the Glory of God.
Holy Quran says, "God did not create the heavens and the Earth and all that is between them in play. He did not create them all but with the truth. But most men do not know."
It is the same practical character of the teaching of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) that gave birth to the scientific spirit, that has also sanctified the daily labors and the so-called mundane affairs.
The Quran says that God has created man to worship him but the word worship has a connotation of its own.
God's worship is not confined to prayer alone, but every act that is done with the purpose of winning approval of God and is for the benefit of the humanity comes under its purview.
Islam sanctifies life and all its pursuits provided they are performed with honesty, justice and pure intents.
It obliterates the age-long distinction between the sacred and profane. The Quran says if you eat clean things and thank God for it, it is an act of worship. It is saying of the prophet of Islam that Morsel of food that one places in the mouth of his wife is an act of virtue to be rewarded by God.
Another tradition of the Prophet says "He who is satisfying the desire of his heart will be rewarded by God provided the methods adopted are permissible."
The debt of science to Muslims does not consist in starting discovers or revolutionary theories. Science owes a great more to the Islamic culture. It owes is existence.
The Greeks systematized, generalized and theorized by patient ways of investigation, the accumulation of positive knowledge, the minute methods of science, detailed and prolonged observation, experimental inquiry, were altogether alien to Greek temperament.
What is called science arose in Europe as result of new methods of investigation, of the method of experiment, observation, measurement, and of the development of Mathematics in form unknown to the Greeks.
That spirit and these methods were introduced into the European world by the Muslims.
1416/1416
---> Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)-Science
http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0703186739170854.htm
Muslims Forcing Christian Assyrians in Baghdad Neighborhood to Pay 'Protection Tax'
Posted GMT 3-18-2007 18:29:1
Baghdad (AINA) -- Muslims in the Dora neighborhood of Iraq are forcing Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs) to pay the jizya, the poll tax demanded by the Koran which all Christians and Jews must pay in exchange for being allowed to live and practice their faith as well as being entitled to 'Muslim protection' from outside aggression.
At least two cases have been reported to a government employee -- who wishes to remain anonymous -- in which the Christian Assyrian wives were instructed to go to a certain mosque and pay, which they did out of fear. The stated reason for the payment was "we do the fighting and you pay to support."
The jizya has been collected since the arrival of Islam in 630 A.D. The last systematic collection was by the Ottomans (Turks), which came to an end only in 1918, when the Ottoman empire was defeated and partitioned in World War One.
http://www.aina.org/news/20070318132901.htm
Thanks to Milford421 for this report:
Update: Cause of ammonia leak might not be known for days - Minn.
Updated: 03-18-2007 03:31 PM
Cause of ammonia leak might not be known for days
LAKE CITY, Minn. (AP) - It may be several days before investigators
determine the cause of an anhydrous ammonia leak that forced the
evacuation of part of Lake City.
A problem developed with a valve on a tanker car that carried 28-
thousand gallons of anhydrous ammonia, forcing more than 100 people
to leave their homes for several hours.
The Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad says it will be working with
the Canadian Pacific Railway to determine why it happened.
Mayor Katie Himanga says the episode put Lake City's emergency
response plan to the test, and the plan worked "extremely well."
Red Cross volunteers had just participated in a training exercise
three weeks earlier, and were well-prepared for an actual emergency.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.kaaltv.com/article/view/111637/
F-16's Strike, Kill Four Terrorist Anti-Aircraft Units
Bill Gertz
Inside the Ring
March 16, 2007
Anti-aircraft trucks
U.S. forces in Iraq this week struck a major blow against terrorists by killing a group that was behind the recent string of helicopter shootdowns, according to defense officials.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) patrolling Baghdad discovered that insurgents have built low-tech mobile anti-aircraft units — trucks outfitted with heavy machine guns that are covered with tarpaulins.
UAV patrols identified four of the machine gun-equipped trucks that drove through the city and stopped when drivers or gunners heard the sound of an approaching helicopter. The gunners then would uncover the tarp and begin firing before quickly driving away.
All four of the trucks recently were tracked down and destroyed by F-16 jet strikes. Knocking the trucks out is viewed as one of the signs of progress being made against the terrorists.
At least eight helicopters have been shot down in Iraq since January, and some were hit with shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.
Last month, U.S. military commanders said two or three al Qaeda cells were behind the helicopter attacks.
http://www.gertzfile.com/gertzfile/InsidetheRing.html
Hello, am behind on posting and have posted several to all, and will do most of the others to 'all' and direct pings.
Thanks for reading our thread.
Thanks to Milford421 for this report:
Recall Information Dog and Cat Food Brands
http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_dog.html
Recalled Dog Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708
Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority
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Big Bet
Big Red
Bloom
Bruiser
Cadillac
Companion
Demoulas Market Basket
Eukanuba
Food Lion
Giant Companion
Great Choice
Hannaford
Hill Country Fare
Hy-Vee
Iams
Laura Lynn
Loving Meals
Meijers Main Choice
Mighty Dog Pouch
Mixables
Nutriplan
Nutro Max
Nutro Natural Choice
Nutro Ultra
Nutro
Ol'Roy Canada
Ol'Roy US
Paws
Pet Essentials
Pet Pride - Good n Meaty
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority
Publix
Roche Bros
Save-A-Lot
Schnucks
Shep Dog
Springsfield Prize
Sprout
Stater Bros
Total Pet
Western Family
White Rose
Winn Dixie
Your Pet
Recalled Cat Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708
Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority
Best Choice
Companion
Compliments
Demoulas Market Basket
Eukanuba
Fine Feline Cat
Food Lion
Foodtown
Giant Companion
Hannaford
Hill Country Fare
Hy-Vee
Iams
Laura Lynn
Li'l Red
Loving Meals
Meijer's Main Choice
Nutriplan
Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
Nutro Natural Choice
Paws
Pet Pride
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority
Save-A-Lot
Schnucks
Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans
Sophistacat
Special Kitty Canada
Special Kitty US
Springfield Prize
Sprout
Total Pet
Wegmans
Western Family
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Winn Dixie
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/under-investigation/
18.03.2007
Eurasian Secret Services Daily Review
AIA
Criminal motives behind shooting at a KGB expert – US investigators
The shooting of a Russia expert outside his Prince George's County home
two weeks ago remains unsolved, but sources with knowledge of the
investigation said this week they are increasingly convinced that the
incident is the work of ordinary criminals rather than part of a wider
conspiracy, the Washington Post writes.
The March 1 shooting occurred four days after Paul Joyal, 53, spoke out
against Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime on Dateline NBC. Two
men shot Joyal, a business consultant and Russia specialist, in the
driveway of his home in Adelphi about 7:30 p.m. after he had drinks
with
former KGB general Oleg Kalugin, a longtime friend and former business
partner, at the International Spy Museum in Northwest Washington.
The identity of the gunmen is unknown, and police say their motive is
unclear. Prince George's police spokeswoman Cpl. Diane Richardson said
investigators are taking Joyal's background into consideration as they
sort through the evidence.
"We are aware of the rumors and the conjecture surrounding this case,
and that's certainly an important part of this investigation, but we
are
not in a position to disclose publicly details about the case,"
Richardson said.
Kalugin said this week that Joyal is in stable condition and has given
a
partial account of what happened to family members.
"He said he was attacked by two guys. They jumped at him from the
bushes
around the house, and he resisted. They shot him. In a panic, they ran
away," Kalugin said. "It appears to be an ordinary criminal act."
A source with knowledge of the investigation who spoke on the condition
of anonymity because the inquiry is ongoing confirmed that a witness
heard two men accosting Joyal before he was shot. That account has
investigators looking into the possibility that the incident was an
attempted carjacking, the source said.
Joyal's son spoke briefly with a Washington Post reporter last week,
but
subsequent attempts to reach Joyal's family at his home were
unsuccessful. In an interview with the Associated Press, Joyal's wife
denied investigators' earlier suggestions that Joyal's wallet and
briefcase had been stolen, saying both had been found.
Under ordinary circumstances, Joyal's shooting might have generated
little attention. But Joyal's background in Russian issues and his
connections to intelligence circles in Washington prompted extensive
coverage of the shooting in Russian and U.S. media.
The mysterious death of a Russian journalist in Moscow four days after
the shooting in Adelphi fueled conjecture, provoking a spate of
conspiracy theories on blogs and briefly alarming even serious Kremlin
watchers.
"It's a little bizarre. All these things, these contract hits, seem to
be taking place in a rapid fashion," said Andrew Kuchins, director of
the Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Joyal said in his Feb. 25 Dateline NBC appearance that Putin's
government was responsible for the recent poisoning death of Alexander
Litvinenko, a former KGB agent and critic of Putin who was
investigating
the death of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya before he was killed
with a lethal dose of polonium-210, a rare radioactive isotope. Russian
government officials deny having anything to do with the poisoning.
Joyal, described by acquaintances as a gregarious, blunt-spoken
businessman with a knack for networking, befriended Litvinenko during
several visits to London. Alex Goldfarb, an acquaintance of Joyal and
Litvinenko and longtime business associate of exiled Russian business
tycoon Boris Berezovsky, said he and Joyal had recently discussed the
possibility of pushing for a congressional hearing on Litvinenko's
murder. In fact, he said, Joyal left a message on his cellphone on the
night of the shooting referring to plans to approach his contacts in
Congress.
Joyal is vice president of National Strategies, a Washington-based
government consulting firm. He served as director of security for the
U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from 1980 to 1989. In that
job, Joyal had access to intelligence information and was diligent
about
safeguarding it, said his former boss, retired senator David Boren, an
Oklahoma Democrat.
Boren, the longtime committee chairman, said Joyal was fascinated by
the
cloak-and-dagger world of the KGB and became a student of the Russian
intelligence organization's structure, familiarizing himself with many
of its key players in the 1980s and 1990s.
"When I was chairman, he would sometimes say, 'See that person in the
fourth row, two chairs down from the right? That's so-and-so, and he's
rumored to have ties to the KGB,' " said Boren, now president of the
University of Oklahoma.
Sources with knowledge of Joyal's background, who asked not to be
identified because of the sensitivity of the investigation, said Joyal
at one time worked for the U.S. Capitol Police and worked briefly as a
contractor for the CIA. According to Joyal's biography on the National
Strategies Web site, he once worked as a federal law enforcement
officer.
A CIA spokesman said last week that the agency as a rule does not
confirm or deny whether someone works for it.
Joyal also worked as a lobbyist for the government of the Republic of
Georgia, a job he secured after becoming acquainted with the late
Georgian prime minister Zurab Zhvania and meeting deposed Georgian
president Eduard Shevardnadze in the 1990s, said David Soumbadze, the
Embassy of Georgia's former deputy chief of mission and a close friend
of Joyal's.
http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1254
The red who got out from under the bed
http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/biography/0,,2036473,00.html
The red who got out from under the bed
Whittaker Chambers, the man who shopped Alger Hiss, is given a
well-deserved rehabilitation in Sam Tanenhaus's monumental work, An
Un-American Life
Peter Preston
Sunday March 18, 2007
The Observer
Different spook stories spook different countries. Britain still
agonises compulsively over Burgess, McLean and Philby. How could the
gilded youth of a generation get it so hideously wrong? But for
America, the debate still revolves around Alger Hiss and subversion in
the State Department, around the hysteria of the House Un-American
Activities Committee, around Richard Nixon and visceral Joe McCarthy.
Which, unavoidably, sets Whittaker Chambers at the heart of every
debate.
Chambers was a pudgy polemicist from a broken Long Island home who
signed up for communism in the Twenties and became an active Soviet
spy in the Thirties, before doing a total flip-flop and shopping his
old friend Hiss to HUAC and thereafter enduring two long perjury
trials as key witness for the prosecution. It is a complex and
detailed tale, tackled with matching diligence and length in this
exhaustive (and occasionally exhausting) biography from the
distinguished senior editor of the New York Times Book Review. But the
questions it asks flow as naturally now as they did 50 years ago.
How, as Tanenhaus asks, can you avoid comparing the paranoia of red
menaces past with the Islamo-fascism of wars against terror today? Why
the constant appetite for threat as a glue for society? And how, more
particularly, can you avoid fighting ideological battles using
stereotypes that squeeze out human understanding? For the point about
Chambers is that he doesn't fit the demon role that so many of
America's great liberal casting directors (from Felix Frankfurter to
Ed Murrow) almost automatically thrust upon him. He had brilliance,
wit, insight, perspective and a certain insouciance, but he was also a
mess. He lied about his ties to the Kremlin, then confessed. He lied
about having proof of Hiss's guilt, then changed his mind. He moved,
over four decades, from Bolshevik agitator to a star contributor
alongside William F Buckley as the National Review was founded.
The Hiss he denounced, like so many other government dabblers in
treason, belonged to FDR's New Deal and thus put the Democrats
themselves on indirect trial. Surely this Chambers guy was a flake, a
romancer, a wild card, a tool of Republican zealots? You only had to
see him sweating in the witness box to know that he was a bad hat. It
was obvious, wasn't it?
But Tanenhaus leaves no room for argument here. Chambers told the
essential truth - Hiss was the liar. Hiss was a Stalin man. The
liberals on the barricades got it wrong and traduced a formidable
intellect who, time and again, let basic decency guide his trajectory.
Chambers quit communism because he saw, close up, how corruptly and
cynically it wasted lives. He quit Buckley's brigade when it grew too
deep into 'crackpotism' and too close to McCarthy. He changed his mind
for purpose. There was always method and reason to his apparent
madness.
That's a lesson worth learning at any time and Tanenhaus, with obvious
affection and some awe for his subject, teaches it well. Start judging
human beings by who they are and what they do, not how they fit into
the latest pat thesis. He tells his long story fluently and gives the
modern resonances full play. It is a considerable achievement. What he
doesn't quite do, though, is break out of the box of purely American
preoccupation.
Chambers is not some global Everyman. He belongs in his time and his
place. The Soviet Union he believed in and served through his youth
was a fleeting vision, not reality. The Washington whose secrets and
documents he helped steal and courier to Moscow was an oddly innocent
spot, 'a big, beautiful village' wide open to espionage and seemingly
just not bothered about it. And some of the tasks his spymaster gave
him were simply dotty. Sneak aboard a Spanish freighter moored in
Brooklyn harbour and, singlehanded, make sure the armaments it carries
aren't diverted to help Franco. This is spying for the simple-minded.
This isn't plotting, but pantomime.
Two doubts intrude here. One, trailing the empty boxes and empty
threats of WMDs in its wake, is the bumbling uncertainty of espionage
old or new. Did anything that Hiss or Chambers passed along change
history one whit? Did any of it matter, in the sense that duff
intelligence about Saddam's stockpile mattered? Why tremble over a
supposed revolution that American exceptionalism always made
impossible?
The other doubt, which applies just as much to Philby as to Hiss, is
the conflation of media interest that gathers like a mushrooming cloud
when you mention spies. Philby was a journalist, one of us. So was
Chambers, a big man on the editorial board of Time magazine when the
HUAC storms broke. The reporters in court knew him. His editors
thought they knew him and for a while stood by him. Suddenly, the
media found themselves in the dock as the gossip mill whirred.
Suddenly, this was the biggest sensation in town, the stuff of
constant headlines and even more constant allegations. So fascinating,
so important, so stuffed with instant moralising ... so us!
That isn't an entirely historical attitude. Mix Scooter Libby with
Valerie Plame for an almost identical modern cocktail of
self-absorption. Don't suppose that the press herd instinct that tried
to trample Chambers died with his final heart attack. But do, I think,
register the fact that hysteria and paranoia aren't the exclusive
preserve of ambitious politicians and the voters they seek to steer
through the latest minefield of awful threats. The press made another
muck of it here, too. The press couldn't cope with nuance or
indecision. The only good thing, half a century later, is that a press
man like Sam Tanenhaus has turned up to level the score.
http://bardfreespeech.blogspot.com/2007/03/terror-speech-found.html
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Terror Speech Found
Terror police 'found 9/11 speech'
A speech by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was found at a London flat used by the alleged 21 July plotters to make rucksack bombs, a court has heard.
The November 2004 speech addressed the American people on the "causes" of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US.
Police also told Woolwich Crown Court dozens of bottles of hydrogen peroxide were found at the tower block flat in New Southgate, north London.
Yassin Omar, who lived at the flat, and five others deny conspiracy to murder.
All six men - Hussein Osman, Ramzi Mohammed, Adel Yahya, Muktar Ibrahim, Manfo Asiedu and Mr Omar - also deny a charge of conspiracy to cause explosions.
THE ACCUSED
Muktar Ibrahim, 29, from Stoke Newington, north London
Ramzi Mohammed, 25, from North Kensington, west London
Yassin Omar, 26, from New Southgate, north London
Hussein Osman, 28, of no fixed address
Manfo Asiedu, 33, of no fixed address
Adel Yahya, 24, of High Road, Tottenham, north London
Mr Omar's fingerprints, and those of several of the other defendants, were found on the boxes and bottles of peroxide recovered from the flat, exhibits officer Detective Constable Malcolm Wilson said.
A printed transcript of the Bin Laden speech - which had been sent to Arab TV station al-Jazeera - was found in a cupboard, the jury was told.
Officers were also said to have removed a flyer for a demonstration held soon after 9/11 to show "solidarity for Muslims in Palestine and respect for the martyrs".
A video of BBC coverage of the 7 July 2005 London bombings and newspaper cuttings related to the 21 July events were also said to have been recovered.
Fliers
Police raided the flat four days after the men allegedly tried to carry out a series of suicide bombings on London's transport network.
They also recovered a rucksack and a brown, long sleeve v-neck T-shirt with a hole in the lower back.
Detective Constable Wilson, from Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command, told the court the property was searched for 10 days.
The jury was shown photographs of the flat, including one of "apparent corrosion" on the control panel of the cooker in the kitchen.
Another showed the residue of a yellow-coloured substance on the shelf of a furniture unit.
The court heard among the other items found in the flat were a flier criticising Pakistan for "declaring war on Islam by siding with America's war on terror" and a video tape on religion that "discussed the hatred of Shia Muslims, Hindus, Russians and Jews".
Nigel Sweeney QC, for the prosecution, reading police notes, said a document was found in the bathroom called Algeria - Travesty Of Truth, and a VHS cassette in the living room entitled Caravan Of Martyrs.
Other videos in the room included one called Islam - The Only Solution To World Peace.
An untitled tape, described as a "homemade cassette including speeches made by Osama bin Laden and images of a suicide bomber attacking the US barracks in Saudi Arabia", was also there, Mr Sweeney said.
CD-roms found allegedly included a course on jihad "including the virtues of injury for the sake of Allah" and another of The 19 Martyrs which was "the last will/message of those who attacked America on 9/11" the QC added.
The trial was adjourned until Thursday.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/6313799.stm
Published: 2007/01/30 21:11:20 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Posted by bard speech at 1:31 PM
http://bardfreespeech.blogspot.com/index.html
Sunday, March 18, 2007
al-Zawraa
Here is a youtube link to a clip from the al-Zawraa television network...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTeR_RPBY0g
Posted by bard speech at 2:50 PM 0 comments
al-Zawraa
Posted by bard speech at 2:47 PM 0 comments
Bin Laden tapes: Fact or fiction?
Bin Laden tapes: Fact or fiction?
In the past year, Zawahri has been issuing tapes, and Bin Laden has been careful not to appear
The audiotapes of OSAMA BIN LADEN have become an important medium between AL-QAEDA network and the outside world. If authentic, these tapes could enable BIN LADEN to convey his opinions to his enemies and followers, issue threats and even claim responsibility for terror attacks carried out by his group. It is obvious that the usefulness of such tapes cannot be questioned, but how can people be sure of their origin and authenticity? Little time is dedicated to such examinations. But an analysis can really influence the way we judge similar evidence in the future.
There is no reason whatsoever to believe that these audiotapes are authentic. While they are always followed by reports of scientific voice analyses, these studies have been invariably done by CIA experts. In fact, only one occasion was an independent analysis done. And while American officials were certain of the tape’s authenticity, Swedish scientists were convinced that it was fake.
Consider yesterday’s audiotape, in which BIN LADEN warned that AL-QAEDA is planning new attacks against the United States, but offered a conditional “long-term truce”, which the White House rejected. Hours after the tape's release, CIA officials said it is a “genuine message” from BIN LADEN. “Following a technical analysis, the voice on the tape is believed to be that of OSAMA BIN LADEN,” said a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official. On the other hand, several experts doubted the tape's authenticity. “It was like a voice from the grave“, said Bruce Lawrence, a Duke professor, who analyzed more than 20 complete speeches and interviews of the AL-QAEDA chief for his recent book “Messages to the World: The Statements of OSAMA BIN LADEN.”
Other officials draw a similarity between the tape and the latest U.S. missile air strike on the Afghan border that angered the Pakistanis for killing more than 18 civilians. The U.S. said that its strike was aimed at targeting BIN LADEN’s deputy, AYMAN AL-ZAWAHRI. It even claimed that the attack killed top AL-QAEDA officials, though the Pakistanis insisted that only civilians were present in the hit area. "It seems that there's some relationship between this tape and the (U.S.) strike (in Pakistan), both in the content and the timing. Over more than the past year, ZAWAHRI has been the one issuing tapes, and BIN LADEN has been very careful not to appear at all, and now all of a sudden he's deviated from that," said Kenneth Katzman, Terrorism Analyst At Congressional Research Service, In-House Think Tank Of The U.S. Congress.
In several occassions, no evidence was provided to support claims of the authenticity of such tapes. The media and politicians seem little concerned about such issues. Moreover, the fact that AL-QAEDA adopted new tactics since this unverified medium emerged was never discussed. For example, the network have never claimed responsibility for any attack before the taped messages. But since their introduction, AL-QAEDA has taken responsibility for several attacks, including those against German tourists in Tunisia, Israeli tourists in Kenya, and the Madrid bombings. The group even released a taped admission of involvement in the 9/11 attacks despite all their previous pre-audiotape protestations to the contrary.
Moreover, nobody ever tried to explain why BIN LADEN focuses on the U.S.‘s global interests rather than his own troubles in AFGHANISTAN. Since 9/11, it seemed that BIN LADEN preferred to target U.S. forces in IRAQ than in AFGHANISTAN. Strange also is why AL-QAEDA would use an audiotape message to threaten France, Russia and Germany, even though all three countries opposed the Bush administration’s “WAR ON TERROR“ to BIN LADEN’s alleged new pet project, IRAQ .
Never addressed as well is the timing of the release of such audiotapes. One of the previous audiotapes was released just two days before the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Its message actually preceded BUSH's first UN appeals on IRAQ by a few days, as well as similar lobbying before the U.S. Congress. Another tape emerged a year later while BUSH tried to win financial aid from Asian countries for IRAQ’s reconstruction. This one also came before a donors’ conference in Madrid just the following week.
Some analysts were quick to point to the perfect timing of the latest tape. They suggest that if the speaker really is BIN LADEN, then the tape will certainly boost support for BUSH. In addition to cooling down the anger provoked by the CIA’s strike in Pakistan, opposition to IRAQ WAR is growing, midterm elections are coming up and international pressures are mounting on Iran over its NUCLEAR PROGRAM.
The content of such tapes is equally alarming as their timing. The push for IRAQ WAR, for example, won support when a BIN LADEN audiotape helped to cement U.S. claims of links between AL-QAEDA and SADDAM HUSSEIN. This tape was released in February 2003, while the U.S. lobbied heavily for a second UN resolution on IRAQ, and just a month before the war began.
Some analysts say that if yesterday’s tape was of BIN LADEN’s, then it also proves another thing; THE WAR ON TERROR didn’t end terrorism and wouldn’t prevent further attacks on the United States. In a CNBC interview, Vice President Dick Cheney said that the tape is a reminder that a “serious threat“ to the United States remained. The audiotape would also assert the statements made by DEMOCRAT Nancy Pelosi, who said after the July bombings in London that President BUSH's "fight them there, not here" strategy plainly wasn't working.
Even after the case about the authenticity of such tapes has been made, some may still wonder if it really matters whether they are real or not. It most certainly does. While the audiotapes purportedly sent out by BIN LADEN were seldom at the forefront of the debate to launch WAR, they were key factors in creating a climate of fear in which pro-war rhetoric grew. And it is precisely for this reason that these tapes require the same level of analysis as any other piece of evidence used to convince the world about the war.
-AlJazeera.com
Posted by bard speech at 1:41 PM 0
Tape 'probably Bin Laden' - CIA
CIA analysis suggests a new audiotape purportedly recorded by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is genuine.
A CIA source told the BBC the finding was based on technical analysis of the tape, which was broadcast on Sunday.
If authentic, it would be the first time Bin Laden has been heard from since a previous tape attributed to him was broadcast last October.
Correspondents say it shows the world's most wanted man seems to still be able to get his message out to the world.
'Still alive'
The conclusion of the CIA was backed by the US Director of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge.
RECENT 'BIN LADEN' TAPES
"Preliminary assessments says this is the voice of Osama Bin Laden," Mr Ridge told US television network CBS.
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also said the tape - broadcast by Arabic satellite channel al-Jazeera - is probably genuine.
"I've had no confirmation, but let's for the purpose of this interview assume that it was him," Mr Straw told the BBC.
"So far as we know, Osama Bin Laden is still alive."
The 14-minute recording is the first supposed Bin Laden tape to be aired by al-Jazeera since 18 October, 2003.
In the latest recording, the speaker obliquely refers to an unofficial peace plan for the Middle East launched in Geneva early in December, and the capture of Saddam Hussein on 13 December.
A voice purported to belong to Bin Laden has made more general references to events in previous tapes, such as US forces fighting insurgents in Iraq, in the October broadcast.
In a tape aired in September, the speaker praised the hijackers who carried out the attacks on the United States two years earlier.
The BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner, says Bin Laden appears to be continuing to get his message out to the world by having tapes smuggled out of his hideaway by hand.
He says they can also be broadcast untraced to millions of listeners over the internet.
'No dialogue'
The voice on the tape urges Muslims to fight "occupiers" and condemns Arab states which backed the US invasion of Iraq.
HAVE YOUR SAY
It is in everyone's best interests that the public believes Bin Laden is alive
Andy, West Midlands, UK
"There can be no dialogue with occupiers except through arms. This is what we need today and what we should seek...
"The occupation of Iraq is the beginning of the full occupation of the other Gulf states... because of the presence of the biggest deposits of oil," the speaker says.
He berates Gulf leaders who "succumbed to US pressure and opened their air, land, and sea bases to contribute toward the US campaign, despite the immense repercussions of this move".
Referring to the arrest of Saddam Hussein, the voice on the tape says Arab rulers now fear that dictatorial regimes can be overthrown "by armed force from abroad, especially after they have seen the arrest of their former comrade" .
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/3368709.stm
Published: 2004/01/05 16:42:46 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Posted by bard speech at 1:24 PM 0 comments
http://bardfreespeech.blogspot.com/index.html
Islamist fundamentalism emerges as a new force in Bosnia: Journalist
Web posted at: 3/17/2007 2:20:13
Source ::: The Peninsula
Senad Pecanin, a journalist from Bosnia speaking at the seminar
organised by
Rand Coporation in Doha Sheraton yesterday. (Shaival Dalal)
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=March2007&file=Local_News2007031722013.xml
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsec
tion=Qatar+News&month=March2007&file=Local_News2007031722013.xml
doha . Islamist fundamentalism has emerged as a new force in Bosnia
thanks
to funding from Saudi Arabia. Saudi monies has led to Wahhabism being
spread
in the country, a journalist from Bosnia said while addressing a
seminar
organised by the Rand Corporation at the Doha Sheraton.
A director of the independent Bosnian magazine, Dani, Senad Pecanin
said
that most of the fundamentalists had merged into Bosnian society after
marrying Bosnian women.
"After the civil war, mujahideen fighters stayed and married Bosnian
women.
They started Wahhabism. They have physically attacked people in
mosques.
They are trying to impose a ban on alcohol. All this is sponsored by
Saudi
Arabia," he said.
Pecanin added: "Never before in Bosnia have we seen women moving about
in
the hijab." Widows, he said, were asked to convert in return for $50
per
month. Many had to succumb as they were unemployed and had no means of
supporting their families, he said.
Dani, established in 1992, is a trendsetter as far as journalism is
concerned in Bosnia. Although it has a print run of 20,000 copies, the
publication has not been afraid to tackle issues head-on like war
crimes,
corruption, trafficking in women and drugs. It is also unafraid to name
names. Pecanin said amid laughter: "When Bill Clinton visited Bosnia,
he
gave me 35 minutes and our president, 27 minutes."
He related tales of the time when he resided in Sarajevo at the height
of
the civil war and how residents of the city had to survive without
water,
electricity and limited food supplies.
"Sarajevo under siege was terrible. The city is surrounded by hills and
then, they were filled with Serb snipers and rockets," said Pecanin
He said the UN had been lacking in law enforcement, stating their
forces had
"allowed Serbs to commit genocide in six safe zones". According to
Pecanin:
"We expected a lot from peace. But unfortunately for journalists,
society
after the war was not much easier, perhaps even worse. A lot of money
provided by the Muslim countries (for rebuilding) ended up in the
pockets of
people like politicians."
Corruption, he said, was a permanent issue in his country. Dani has
published stories on how the Bosnian embassy in Vienna (Austria) was
selling
passports to Al Qaeda members. The magazine also unearthed a scandal on
how
the country's former envoy to the UN was embezzling funds in order to
continue with his gambling habit.
The country's top Islamic leader was also accused of not practising
what he
preaches. Pecanin accused him of "tolerating Wahhabism and being on the
payroll of the Saudis".
Dani published a series of photographs of the Islamic leader up to
mischief
and the cover story bore his phone number as a sexual hotline. The
irate and
influential cleric then tried to have advertisements from various
entities
pulled, but all in vain.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/03/18/2007-03-18_world_briefs
.html
Iran army warns US against making 'stupid moves'
From correspondents in Iehran
March 18, 2007 12:20am
Article from: Reuters
IRAN'S army commander has warned the US and other Western powers not to
make
any 'stupid move' over Tehran's nuclear work, and suggested they would
be
surprised by Iran's military response if they attacked.
The comments by the commander-in-chief of the army, reported by
newspapers
on Saturday, were the latest in a series of defiant statements by
Iran's
leadership as the United Nations prepares to vote on new sanctions
against
the Islamic Republic.
Iran is embroiled in an escalating dispute over its uranium enrichment,
which Iran says is about fuel for power generation but the West
suspects is
aimed at making nuclear bombs.
The US says it would prefer a negotiated solution to the crisis, but
has not
ruled out military options.
Armed forces chief Ataollah Salehi said Iran's military was stronger
now
than when Iran fought against Iraq in 1980-88.
"And if our bullying enemies make a stupid move, they will certainly be
surprised," the daily Siyasat-e Rouz quoted him as saying on Friday.
Military experts say Iranian forces are no technological match for the
US
military but could still cause havoc in the Gulf and the narrow Strait
of
Hormuz, a choke point through which two-fifths of the world's traded
oil
passes.
A draft resolution agreed by the UN Security Council's five members
with
veto power - the US, France, Britain, China and Russia - and Germany
was
sent to the 15-nation council on Thursday for a vote, expected next
week.
It seeks new sanctions including an arms export ban and an expanded
asset
freeze list over Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.
Enriched uranium, can be used to generate electricity or, more highly
enriched, to make nuclear bombs.
Major powers have demanded that Iran halt such nuclear work as a
precondition for broader talks that they say would lead to major trade
and
diplomatic benefits for the oil-rich country.
But Iranian officials have insisted in recent days that they will not
bow to
pressure and abandon their atomic ambitions.
"Taking an inappropriate decision by passing a new (UN) resolution may
bring
all kinds of consequences," the IRNA news agency quoted Foreign
Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki as saying on Saturday.
"We still prefer cooperation and negotiation for reaching a political
solution."
Russia urged the US to show more flexibility towards Iran to solve the
crisis.
"On North Korea, they were able to show flexibility, they were able to
reach
a compromise and got away from demands in the form of ultimatums,"
Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"I think the same approach would help restart negotiations on the
Iranian
nuclear dossier as well."
Taliban hand Italian hostage to tribal elders
Reuters
Sunday, March 18, 2007
By Ismail Sameem
The Taliban said on Sunday they had handed a kidnapped Italian
journalist to tribal leaders, but added they would recapture him unless all
their ransom demands were met by the Afghan government.
La Repubblica reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo and two Afghan colleagues
were seized two weeks ago in the lawless southern province of Helmand,
where NATO and Afghan forces have launched a major offensive.
The Taliban, who said the reporter had confessed to spying for British
troops, on Saturday extended a deadline to kill him by three days to
Monday if their full demands were not met.
Mastrogiacomo and his Afghan translator were handed over to tribal
elders after Kabul freed two Taliban officials, rebel spokesman Qari
Mohammad Yousuf told Reuters by satellite phone from a secret location.
"We handed over the two to a third party after we got two of the three
people we wanted to be freed," Yousuf said, without giving details of
where the reporter and his Afghan translator had been moved.
A provincial official said two Taliban were released late on Saturday
night. Yousuf said the pair were spokesman Latif Hakimi and a leader
known as Ustad Yasar. The two were arrested in Pakistan in 2005 and handed
to Kabul.
Yousuf said the rebels wanted the third released as well before
Mastrogiacomo could be freed. If that demand is not met the Taliban said they
would take back the journalist and his colleague.
Some media reports said Mastrogiacomo's driver was executed on
Thursday, prompting Italy to say it was redoubling efforts to secure the
reporter's release.
Mastrogiacomo's employer, La Repubblica, has denied he was a spy and
said he had worked for the newspaper since 1980.
"VERY DELICATE SITUATION"
On Sunday, the Italian government said the Karachi-born journalist was
still being held against his will.
"We have seen reports that he has been handed over to a third party of
tribal chiefs. That is not a liberation," an Italian government
spokesman said.
"He has probably been handed over to people who have the task of
verifying whether certain conditions have been met and whether to free him or
not," he said, adding that the situation remained "very delicate."
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, who has been under pressure at
home over his foreign policy, including on sending troops to Afghanistan,
said he had spoken to Afghan President Hamid Karzai who is visiting
Germany and France.
But Prodi refused to give details of the conversation.
"Now in Afghanistan it is getting dark and we can't do much today, but
we've been working since dawn and we will carry on now," he said in
response to questions by reporters.
Italian aid group Emergency, which says it has been mediating in the
crisis and received a video of Mastrogiacomo on March 14, also said the
situation was not resolved.
"The Taliban's demands need to be fully met and we are still not there,
and that makes the situation complex and worrying," Emergency's
Vice-President Carlo Garbagnati told Reuters.
There have been different versions of what the Taliban want in exchange
for the journalist.
The rebels have at times demanded the release of one of their jailed
leaders, sometimes mentioned the name of two Taliban officials and at
others, three.
The Taliban, who often execute Afghans they accuse of spying, had also
called for Italy to withdraw its 1,900 troops from Afghanistan in order
to free him -- something Rome rules out.
Another Italian journalist, Gabriele Torsello, was kidnapped in Helmand
in October and held for three weeks before being released unharmed.
(Additional reporting by Gavin Jones and Roberto Landucci in Rome)
Thanks to Milford421 for this report:
Food poisoning warning issued in Britain - Schools, Hospitals, Canteens Sports C
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/20070317-033223-2632r/
Schools, hospitals, canteens and sports centers....
Published: March 17, 2007 at 4:58 PM
Food poisoning warning issued in Britain
LONDON, March 17 (UPI) -- British officials have issued a food
poisoning alert after learning that nearly 250,000 packed sandwiches
could be contaminated with the listeria bacterium.
The Times of London said that Britain's Food Standards Agency issued
the warning Friday after it was revealed that ready-made sandwiches
from the Anchor Economy, Anchor Gourmet or Pomegranate labels may be
potentially dangerous.
The health group found that the bacterium may have contaminated the
foods for more than three weeks and its effects may not be readily
apparent for up to three months after ingestion.
While most healthy adults are not significantly at risk regarding
the listeria, the Health Protection Agency warned that pregnant
women specifically were.
Other high-risk groups include the elderly, infants and the
physically ill.
No related illnesses were reported since the warning was issued.
The paper said that the possibly infected sandwiches were mainly
sold to schools, hospitals, canteens and sports centers in Southern
England.
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