Threat Matrix: May 2007

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[nwctwx]

U.S. Seeks Closing of Visa Loophole for Britons
-Full Story-

Omar Khyam, the ringleader of the thwarted London bomb plot who was sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday, showed the potential for disaffected young men to be lured as terrorists, a threat that British officials said they would have to contend with for a generation.

But the 25-year-old Mr. Khyam, a Briton of Pakistani descent, also personifies a larger and more immediate concern: as a British citizen, he could have entered the United States without a visa, like many of an estimated 800,000 other Britons of Pakistani origin.

American officials, citing the number of terror plots in Britain involving Britons with ties to Pakistan, expressed concern over the visa loophole. In recent months, the homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, has opened talks with the government here on how to curb the access of British citizens of Pakistani origin to the United States.

	How the Plot Came Together
	Briefing on Release of 2006 Country Reports on Terrorism
	Iran to Tell Coalition Forces to Leave Iraq at Summit in Egypt

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[Oorang]

Thanks Cindy. I can’t believe they let him go!?!

[Cindy]

HOW could a box cutter get on board these days or the occasional knife, etc?

Doesn’t make sense, does it?

[Cindy]

Ditto, ditto.

[Oorang]

No, it doesn’t make sense. Cleaning crew employee testing?

[Cindy]

OPINION-SPECULATION: Yes, or a passenger who leaves a token before getting off.

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1831145/posts

http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/?p=37

“Kosovo Blowback Reaches America”
by Srdja Trifkovic
(May 8, 2007)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1831158/posts

“We plead self defense for second amendment rights”
Argus Champion ^ | 05/09/07 | Bill Walsh

Posted on 05/09/2007 11:00:15 PM PDT by TheBethsterNH

[Cindy]

http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/news/13290761/detail.html

“Four Million Gallons Of Wastewater Dumped Into Lake Michigan”

POSTED: 9:13 pm CDT May 9, 2007

“MILWAUKEE — Millions of gallons of waste water was flushed into Lake Michigan last Thursday, and officials admit they’re not sure why.”

[Cindy]

The following news briefs summary is a quote:

http://blog.nj.com/gloucester/2007/05/coming_thursday_in_the_glouces_8.html

Coming Thursday in the Gloucester County Times
Posted by Gloucester County Times May 09, 2007 8:00PM

An SKS assault carbine, a shotgun, a Beretta semi-automatic handgun and 200 rounds of ammunition were seized at the Buena Vista home of Agron Abdullahu, charged with aiding and abetting illegals to obtain weapons. Police reportedly were at the house at least twice for paintball-related complaints.

One of the Duka brothers who were arrested for allegedly plotting to kill soldiers at Fort Dix was pulled over and arrested twice in Washington Township in 2002.

Police were called last month after two Wenonah elementary school students passed a note containing instructions on how to make a chlorine bomb. Two days after, the school banned artwork depicting violence, bombs or weapons.

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=zimbabwe

From the YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP department:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6641271.stm

Last Updated: Thursday, 10 May 2007, 01:21 GMT 02:21 UK

“Fears of top UN role for Zimbabwe”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Western countries are concerned about the expected appointment of Zimbabwe to head a key UN body, the Commission on Sustainable Development.”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A US state department spokesman, Tom Casey, has said: “We don’t think that Zimbabwe would be a particularly effective leader of this body.”

He said development there had “been going in only one direction - and it’s backwards”.

Power cut back

Zimbabwe is enduring the world’s highest inflation, at more than 2000%, mass unemployment, and there are widespread accusations of civil rights abuses.

On Wednesday it was announced that households in Zimbabwe were to be limited to four hours’ electricity a day, between 1700 and 2100 local time.”

[Cindy]

http://www.truthusa.com/IRAN.html

A PHOTO ESSAY (courtesy of M. Espinola):

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1824546/posts?page=10#10

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1831173/posts

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/05/FB75EDEE-5B54-4E22-9508-269789386785.html

“Iran: U.S.-Iranian Scholar Reportedly Sent To Tehran’s Evin Prison”

(RFE/RL)

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “May 9, 2007 (RFE/RL) — Iranian officials have jailed a prominent American-Iranian scholar after banning her departure from the country, according to the U.S.-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Haleh Esfandiari, the director of the Middle East program at the Wilson Center in Washington, had undergone periodic interrogations by Iranian intelligence officials for four months before being taken to Tehran’s Evin prison on May 8, according to center President and Director Lee Hamilton.

Wilson Center Details The Case

Iranian officials have not commented on Esfandiari’s reported arrest, and it is unclear whether she has been formally charged with any offense.

Hamilton told reporters that Esfandiari, a dual Iranian-U.S. citizen who has lived in the United States for more than 25 years, had called her 93-year-old mother after being detained by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry.

Esfandiari had been under virtual house arrest since December 30, when, according to the Wilson Center, three masked gunmen ambushed her taxi and stole her luggage — including her Iranian and U.S. passports — while she was heading to Tehran airport for her departure to Washington.

Esfandiari was sent to the ministry for interrogation when she applied for a new Iranian passport, according to the Wilson Center’s statement.”

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1831132/posts

“Stand by Estonia”
telegraph.co.uk ^ | 05/10/2007

Posted on 05/09/2007 9:26:26 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=irhabi007
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=terrorist007

###

A few more details UPDATE:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1603333/posts?page=40#40

http://members.forbes.com/global/2007/0507/062.html

“Special Report
Web Of Terror”
Rita Katz and Josh Devon 05.07.07

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “In early 2005 some of Irhabi007’s virtual associates secretly communicated on a jihadist forum to plan a spectacular attack at Naval Station Mayport, a U.S. Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. The plot, which was to be filmed from multiple angles, involved utilizing several car bombs, as well as rocket-propelled grenades. Those organizing the plot claimed to have 45 people dedicated to the attack, including an American pilot in the U.S. Air Force and three American women who converted to Islam after Sept. 11. Whether the plot ever progressed past the initial planning stages is unclear; some of the organizers were arrested shortly after the online discussions.

We can’t take too much comfort from the fact that these particular schemes were thwarted. The plans live on. Once an idea enters cyberspace, it exists indefinitely within the online jihadist community. Any terrorist can take a proposed target or tactic and pick up the plan where a captured terrorist left off.”

40 posted on 05/10/2007 2:21:17 AM PDT by Cindy

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=nuclear
http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S5&P1=148

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=iran
http://www.memri.org/iran.html

###

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28215

“The Terror Masters’ Nuclear Sideshow Continues”
By Steve Schippert
FrontPageMagazine.com | May 10, 2007

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Just recently, on April 30, the European Union began the latest round of nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna, home of Mohamed ElBaredei’s IAEA. The pretext for the talks is a 130-nation gathering to discuss the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which addresses the conduct of nuclear states and the handling of the nuclear technology they master. But make no mistake, any and all nuclear talks begin and end with the Iranian nuclear crisis, and this gathering is no different. The talks are scheduled to last two weeks. Today, reports abound of an Iranian acceptance of a compromise during the talks, a compromise lacking in the Iranian nuclear posture since its clandestine nuclear program was publicly exposed in 2003. On the surface, this is a good development and welcomed news. But beyond the surface, nothing has changed.

For one, Iran continues to supply weapons to Sunni and Shi’a alike in Iraq to kill Americans. And met with virtual silence was General Petraeus’ recent confirmation that Iran was behind the execution of US soldiers in January. But Iran’s nuclear sideshow continues to dominate coverage of the world’s foremost state sponsors of terrorism.”

###

http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=iran&ID=SP157807

Special Dispatch Series - No. 1578
May 10, 2007 No.1578

“Friday Sermon in Kerman, Iran: If Iran Is Attacked, Tens of Thousands of Missiles Will Be Fired at Israel; President Bush Should Be Sentenced to 100 Deaths”

SNIPPET: “The following are excerpts from a Friday sermon in Kerman, Iran, delivered by Sayyid Yahyah Ja’fari. The sermon was aired on Kerman TV on May 6, 2007.

To view this clip: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1444 “

[Cindy]

http://www.memri.org/jihad.html

http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=jihad&ID=SP157907

Special Dispatch Series - No. 1579
May 10, 2007 No.1579

“Islamist Websites Monitor No. 98”

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=iran
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=ahmadinejad

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=venezuela;
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=chavez
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=hugochavez

#

http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20070509-103546-5552r.htm

“Chavez presses allies to back Iran”
By Martin Arostegui
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 10, 2007

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is encouraging his Latin American allies to expand ties with Iran, which is offering trade concessions and financial incentives and winning influence in the region.

During two recent visits to Venezuela, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad signed more than $17 billion worth of economic agreements with Mr. Chavez.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega last month received Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki while Bolivian President Evo Morales announced a new trade deal with Iran.”

[Cindy]

Off-Topic:

http://michellemalkin.com/archives/007493.htm

“”I’m not serving you””
By Michelle Malkin · May 09, 2007 10:39 PM

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07050044.htm

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Vatican-approved Chinese bishop detained says report

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

ROME, ITALY (ANS) — A Chinese bishop approved by the Vatican but not by the state-controlled church has been held in custody for over a month, a Catholic news agency has said.

Martin Wu Qinjing, bishop of Zhouzhi (Picture from China Aid Assocation)
A story carried in The China Post in Taiwan, said that the Rome-based AsiaNews service, which specializes in China, had stated that Martin Wu Qinjing, bishop of Zhouzhi in the northern province of Shaanxi, was taken from his church on March 17.

It said the bishop was being held by police and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association at an undisclosed location, where he was being subjected to “political sessions” to force him to give up his diocese.

Contacts with faithful or priests from his church were prohibited, AsiaNews said, adding, however, that a message from the bishop in which he asked Catholics to pray for his release had been read out on Easter Sunday.

Wu was consecrated bishop in 2005 with the Vatican’s blessing, but his leadership is not recognized by the government-approved church, which according to AsiaNews deemed the appointment illegal and controlled by “foreign influences”.

AsiaNews said the Chinese government had released a document last month saying Wu “should not run any church affairs as a bishop and should not interfere with the Zhouzhi diocese management”.

The China Post story went on to say, “China’s 10 million Catholics are split between an underground church loyal to the Vatican and the official church, which rejects papal control.

“In recent years, Chinese religious authorities and the Vatican have clashed over the appointment of bishops, although Pope Benedict has made normalizing relations with China one of his priorities.”

AsiaNews said Wu had already been detained for a few days last year after he celebrated a mass wearing the bishop’s skullcap.

Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07050045.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net — E-mail: assistnews@aol.com

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

India: How far is Jaipur form Malatya?

By Elizabeth Kendal
World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
Special to ASSIST News Service

AUSTRALIA (ANS) — In modern, progressive, secular Turkey, anti-Christian hatred has been whipped up by Islamist and nationalist forces and cultivated and perpetuated in the media, often by men and women of influence seeking political mileage. Unfortunately the hate insurgency has not been neutralised by a truth counterinsurgency, and so hate – a highly destructive force – has been permitted to advance. And we have seen the consequences. In Turkey expatriate Catholic, Turkish-Armenian Orthodox, and expatriate and Turkish Protestants have been victims of fatal hate crimes over the past 15 months. Christians and Christianity have been so thoroughly demonised that zealous, patriotic religious youths have been deluded into believing that if they do their country a favour and slay a Christian then they will be able to literally get away with murder.

The brutality of the 18 April torture and murder of three Christians in Malatya, Turkey (link 1) has left many Turks shocked and ashamed. Finally there is now some will for a decisive (albeit difficult and possibly costly) truth, tolerance, secularism and religious liberty counterinsurgency.
Modern, progressive, secular India, which is treading virtually the exact same path, is only a step away from having its own “Malatya” experience (that is: an act of hate-fueled anti-Christian violence so disgusting and horrific it sends shockwaves through the nation).

ANTI-CHRISTIAN HATE CAMPAIGN PERSISTS UNCHALLENGED
and JAIPUR PASTOR BASHED FOR THE TV CAMERAS

On 24 April, Compass Direct published a report by Vishal Arora, entitled “Hate Campaign Adds Fuel to Persecution in India”. (Link 2)

This report details some of the anti-Christian hate that India is being submerged in as Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) forces continue to spew forth anti-Christian propaganda, lies, disinformation, incitement and hatred, all for political gain.

Arora mentions the CD produced by the organisers of the Shabri Kumbh Mela, held in Dangs, Gujarat, in February 2006. The CD titled “Shri Shabri Kumbh 2006: Spirituality along with the Wave of Patriotism” has been widely circulated, distributed and openly sold in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra and in the north-eastern states.

Anhad (link 3), a non-profit organisation that has admitted a petition to the Supreme Court of India seeking action against the Hindutva forces that distributed the CDs, claims: “In the CD, the narrator, while talking about Hindu tradition and culture, makes constant references to the evil forces and foreign powers that are out to destroy the Hindu religion whilst simultaneously flashing pictures of churches and Cross on the screen as if to insinuate that the Christian community is the evil force and the foreign power that the Hindu community has to reckon with.”

Arora notes that on the CD cover there is a caricature of a headless Christian priest wearing a cassock and holding a cross. Anhad comments, “In place of the head is a question mark symbol. The caption on the top of this picture literally translates into ‘Church: in the name of service.’” As Arora notes, the Hindutva slogan, ‘Hindu Jago, Christi Bhagao’ (Arise Hindus, throw out the Christians) represents the overall sentiment of the Hindutva anti-Christian hate campaign.

According to Arora, Hindutva hate material typically brands Christianity and Islam as alien religions and a threat to India. “It alleges that Indian Christians use foreign funds to convert Hindus by force and fraudulent means.

“The hate material casts doubts on the patriotism and loyalty of Christians to the country, questions the roots of Christianity, attacks the tenets of the faith and targets priests, nuns and Christian institutions and social work.

“Hindu extremists use many means to spread hate against Christians on a regular basis. Media used include hate speeches at rallies, distribution of pamphlets and CDs, publication of reports in local newspapers in vernacular languages, publication of books, e-mail campaigns using e-groups, uploading of videos on the Web, and websites.

“The RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] is said to spew hatred through its wide network of ‘shakhas’ or daily gatherings. According to the RSS, there were about 50,000 ‘shakhas’ in 34,732 locations across the country as of March 2005.

“Additionally, the RSS has more than 17,500 ‘one-teacher schools’ known as ‘Ekal Vidyalayas’, in 20 states. These schools allegedly teach hate against Christians in the guise of providing education and preventing ‘conversion’ of tribal people to Christianity. The children of these schools are exposed to Hindu symbols and deities, saints and patriots apart from the regular syllabus.

“The Hindu extremist ‘Dharma Raksha Samiti’ (Association for Protection of Religion) has posted an anti-conversion documentary in English on the Web, which can be seen online at: http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=3c13e5d869a1ccff0620b77daf703c92.703761

“Another extremist group, the Kashmiri Hindu Liberation Army, says on its website http://www.hindurashtra.org that Hindus should ‘militarize’ and ‘industrialize’ themselves to ‘survive’. ‘Hinduize the politics and militarize the Hindus. . . Change of religion means change of nation,’ the website states, advocating establishment of a single-party, militarized government based on the divine laws of Hindu Dharma (Religion), and Hindutva nationalist ideology.” (Compass Direct, India archives: link 2)

JAIPUR PASTOR BASHED FOR TV CAMERAS

Violent persecution of Christians in India has been escalating in both frequency and intensity as the Hindutva forces claw back their lost political territory, as a read through the Compass Direct’s India Archives will demonstrate.

On Sunday 29 April, a mob of some twenty militant Hindu youths (Bajrang dal activists) attacked Pastor Walter Masih (or Massey) in his home in Jaipur, Rajasthan, where he leads a small home fellowship. The attack took place in front of Pastor Masih’s wife and child and what appears to be an invited television crew.

According to The Hindu, Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot described the incident as a “very serious matter” and demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits. “Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers have once again taken law into their own hands in the name of stopping religious conversions in the State and this is condemnable,” he said. (Link 4)

The following news report from CNN-IBN contains a video of the IBN news broadcast which features excerpts of the filmed attack:
“Pastor attack: Media under scanner”
CNN-IBN, 30 April 2007
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india/04_2007/pastor-attack-cops-probe-media-role-39465.html

As noted in the above report, Indian authorities are looking into the role the media played in the attack. Christians in Rajasthan are calling for a full CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) investigation into the incident.

Another CNN-IBN report poses the question, “Indian media intolerant?” This news broadcast contains two videos from the CNN-IBN program, “India 360”.
“Indian media intolerant?” 1 May 2007
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india-360-indian-media-intolerant/39536-3.html

Surely the question at the heart of this issue is: What is it that makes youths not only so hateful and violent, but so convinced that their violence is acceptable, justifiable and even heroic, that they would proudly and confidently commit their criminal assault upon a peaceful family before a TV crew for national broadcast?

How far is Jaipur from Malatya? Not far at all.

Elizabeth Kendal
rl-research@crossnet.org.au

Links

1) Turkey: German Seminary investigates Malatya murders
by Elizabeth Kendal WEA RLC, 1 May 2007.
http://www.worldevangelicalalliance.com/news/view.htm?id=1084

2) Compass Direct India archives
http://www.compassdirect.org/content/index.php?id=25

3) Anhad (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy)
http://www.anhadindia.org/

4) Christian preacher attacked in Jaipur
The Hindu. Monday 30 May 2007 http://www.hindu.com/2007/04/30/stories/2007043005341200.htm
See also: http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=9129&size=A

Elizabeth Kendal is the Principal Researcher and Writer for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC) www.worldevangelical.org/rlc.html. This article was initially written for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis mailing list.

Elizabeth can be contacted by e-mail at rl-research@crossnet.org.au.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.