Threat Matrix: June 2007

British Intelligence: Al-Qaida Expanding
-Full Story-

British intelligence officials said they believe that al-Qaida has a secure base in Pakistan's Waziristan region and is planning terrorist operations.

The group is reaching out to Muslims in North Africa, The Telegraph reported. Last year, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, an Algerian terrorist group, merged itself into al-Qaida, a move announced by Osama bin Laden's chief lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a tape promising action against the "apostates" in the Algerian government and "the treacherous sons of France."

Al-Qaida is also believed to be planning expansion into Lebanon and Syria, the newspaper report said.

	U.S. Battles al-Qaida in Baghdad
	U.S. Terror Expert Says Nuclear Risk Low
	Is North African Militant New Face of al-Qaida?

Thread Forty-Nine

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1858092/posts?page=3#3

ARTICLE SNIPPET:

“Lydia Playfoot is right: Rules about clothing and jewelry are less about accommodating religious requirements than they are about silencing Christians.”

3 posted on 06/28/2007 8:51:53 PM PDT by Cindy

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1858092/posts

“The Ring Thing: Muslim Garb OK, Christian Ring Verboten
Breakpoint with Chuck Colson ^ | 6/27/2007 | Chuck Colson

Posted on 06/28/2007 8:47:41 PM PDT by Mr. Silverback

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Lydia Playfoot wanted to wear a ring to school—a ring that symbolized her commitment to remain chaste until marriage. But school authorities said no—and punished her for wearing it.

It’s an example of the growing hostility to the Christian faith in the public schools—both in Great Britain and in America.

Lydia Playfoot belongs to an organization called The Silver Ring Thing, similar to the American True Love Waits program. The ring is engraved with a verse from 1 Thessalonians, warning believers to avoid sexual sin.

But Lydia’s high school in South London has a rule against jewelry—and forbade her to wear the ring. Lydia sued. She pointed out that the school allows Muslim students to wear a head covering called the Hijab. And students of the Sikh faith are allowed to wear religious bangles.

In response, the school argues that distinctive head-garb and bangles are requirements of Islam and the Sikh faiths. By contrast, it says, a purity ring is merely an expression of religious belief.

Well, Lydia disagrees. She told the court, “The real reason for the extreme hostility to the wearing of the . . . purity ring is the dislike of the message of sexual restraint.” This message is “’counter cultural’ and contrary to societal and government policy,” she said.

This is not the first time British Christians have gotten in trouble for wearing small symbols of their faith.”

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

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

###

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1858037/posts

“Rebel Against America, Chavez Urges Russia”
The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 6-29-2007 | Carl Schrek

Posted on 06/28/2007 6:38:21 PM PDT by blam

###

http://www.guardian.co.uk/venezuela/story/0,,2114634,00.html

“Chávez hints at nuclear future for Venezuela”

Luke Harding in Moscow
Friday June 29, 2007
The Guardian

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “President Hugo Chávez yesterday hinted that Venezuela could try to become a nuclear power, during a visit to Russia apparently timed to antagonise the White House.

Mr Chávez defended Iran’s right to pursue a nuclear programme and said it might be a good idea if Venezuela eventually did the same thing. Speaking before an audience of communists and other elements hostile to America, Mr Chávez said: “Iran has a right to have a peaceful atomic energy industry, as it is a sovereign country.”

###

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1858083/posts

Venezuela strikes £500m deal to buy Russian submarines
http://www.guardian.co.uk ^ | Thursday June 14, 2007 | Luke Harding

Posted on 06/28/2007 8:18:02 PM PDT by thenatural

Venezuela strikes £500m deal to buy Russian submarines · Fleet would help Chávez thwart future US embargo · Sale to worsen relations between Putin and Bush Luke Harding in Moscow Thursday June 14, 2007 Guardian Unlimited Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez speaking in Havana, Cuba, during a surprise visit to see Fidel Castro. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez speaking in Havana, Cuba, during a surprise visit to see Fidel Castro. Photograph: Ismael Francisco/Prensa Latina/AP President Hugo Chávez is poised to buy at least five submarines from Russia in a £500m deal that will alarm the White House and confirms Venezuela as a growing military power in the region.

(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...

I dont know if you heard about this....saw this release in my inbox tonight...

The following statement is from the Los Angeles Fire Department Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section, a member agency of the Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force...

“On the morning of June 24, 2007, a joint agency contingent consisting of the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the University of California at Los Angeles Police responded to a reported incendiary device on South Loring Avenue in the West Los Angeles/UCLA area.

The investigating agencies are viewing this incident as an act of domestic terrorism and an investigation is being conducting by the Joint Terrorism Task Force. At this time, no further information is being provided due to the ongoing investigation.”

Thank you Burbank Karl.
I appreciate the heads up.

I’ll link to the LAFD’s statement/url for archival purposes.

###

Note: The following text is a quote:

Statement Issued Regarding Domestic Terrorism Incident in Los Angeles
The following statement is from the Los Angeles Fire Department Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section, a member agency of the Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force...

Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

Labels: advisory, arson, Battalion 9, Council District 5, Division 1, terrorism

posted by LAFD Media and Public Relations @ 6/28/2007 03:38:00 PM
http://lafd.blogspot.com/2007/06/statement-issued-regarding-domestic.html

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

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Animal+Liberation+Brigade%22&btnG=Search

###

THANKS to BurbankKarl for the ping to this thread.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1858137/posts

FBI probes bomb claim (More domestic terrorism at UCLA)
LA Times ^ | 6/29/07 | By Larry Gordon, Times Staff Writer

Posted on 06/28/2007 11:16:37 PM PDT by BurbankKarl

The FBI and the Los Angeles Fire Department are investigating an anonymous claim that animal rights extremists placed an unexploded incendiary device found under the car of a prominent UCLA eye doctor last weekend. The incident was similar to one last year in which another UCLA researcher was the intended target.

A gasoline-filled device was discovered Sunday by the car outside the Westside home of Dr. Arthur Rosenbaum, who is chief of pediatric ophthalmology at UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute. The device did not ignite despite evidence of an attempt to light it, authorities said Thursday.

An e-mail on Wednesday signed by the Animal Liberation Brigade said the group put the device there to stop experiments on animals in Rosenbaum’s laboratory. The message claimed a gallon of fuel was set alight under the vehicle, but authorities said there was no fire.

Rosenbaum, who has worked at UCLA for 35 years, declined to comment Thursday.

According to the National Institutes of Health, his lab received federal funding to, among other things, test tiny implanted electrodes on monkeys to correct severe cross-eyed conditions. UCLA reported that Rosenbaum’s team has used only one primate for “vision training” and that the lab meets all federal rules for humane treatment.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said investigators are treating the car incident as a case of “domestic terrorism.”

The FBI and arson investigators in the Los Angeles Fire Department also will look for possible links to an attempted and still unsolved firebombing a year ago in which an explosive was lighted but did not ignite outside the Bel-Air house of an elderly woman.

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

Good idea.

OFF TOPIC

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1858180/posts

Skip to comments.

Shoppers Seek Bomb Barriers in Baghdad
Strategy Page ^ | 2007 Jun 28

Posted on 06/29/2007 1:41:53 AM PDT by Wiz

June 28, 2007: One of the worst side effects of the terror bombings in Baghdad, is that it makes people reluctant to go out and, more importantly, to shop. This hurts the economy, especially the retail trade. So the U.S. Army came up with a bold idea. They are setting up 1,800 concrete blast wall sections in one of the city’s major market places. Some merchants objected, because the blast wall sections were tall enough to block a view of their shop. But they soon realized that they could put signs and posters on the blast wall blocks. It was also quickly noticed that customers were more abundant, and more relaxed. If the terrorists did bomb the market, the blast wall sections would greatly limit the damage. That was enough to bring out a lot of shoppers.

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

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

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=87&art_id=nw20070628102804114C654654

“Doctor with US charity killed in Somalia”

June 28 2007 at 10:35AM

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Mogadishu - Gunmen killed a doctor working with a US charity and his driver in southern Somalia, officials and residents said on Thursday, highlighting the continuing insecurity in the shattered nation.

Mohamed Muse Ali, 40, a doctor with the International Medical Corps (IMC) was slain late on Wednesday in El-Berde, about 400 kilometres northwest of the capital Mogadishu, they said.

“He was returning to his house from office when armed men shot him,” Mohamed Ahmed, an IMC officer in the nearby Hodur township, told AFP by telephone.”

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12597&Itemid=21

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20070629-04
June 29, 2007

Bomb-making materials, weapons seized from two Rashid District mosques
4th IBCT, 1st Inf. Div. Public Affairs
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers entered two mosques in the Rashid District of the Iraqi capital June 27-28 and uncovered two weapons caches.

Early in the morning June 27, Company A, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, and Iraqi Security Forces entered the Al Mahada Mosque in the Saydiyah portion of the city and found eight AK-47s with 40 magazines and body armor.

On June 28, the same company entered Al-Sadiq Mosque in the same neighborhood and found six AK-47s and one bag of hand grenades buried in the courtyard.

Inside the mosque, they found one PKM machine gun, one PKC machine gun, one drum of PKM ammunition, 22 assault rifle magazines, one expended rocket-propelled grenade booster, seven demolition boosters, 30 feet of detonation cord, one stick of dynamite, two RPG warheads, 10 blocks of TNT, one 122mm mortar round, one sniper scope, three RPG fins, 14 blasting caps, more than 500 loose 7.62mm rounds, six pressure switches, six timers, 12 9-volt batteries, one 6-volt battery and assorted communications devices.

The cache, enough to build numerous roadside bombs, was destroyed by an explosive ordnance disposal unit.

Under Iraqi law, citizens are allowed one assault rifle and one 30-round magazine for protection.

-30-

US-CERT.GOV
http://www.us-cert.gov

~~~~~
~~~~~

June 27, 2007

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/June/07_crm_465.html

Justice Department Alerts Public about Fraudulent Spam Email

Justice Department Urges Public Not to Respond to Email

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice has recently become aware of fraudulent spam e-mail messages claiming to be from DOJ. Based upon complaints from the public, it is believed that the fraudulent messages are addressed “Dear Citizen.” The messages are believed to assert that the recipients or their businesses have been the subject of complaints filed with DOJ and also forwarded to the Internal Revenue Service. In addition, such email messages may provide a case number, and state that the complaint was “filled [sic] by Mr. Henry Stewart.” A DOJ logo may appear at the top of the email message or in an attached file. Finally, the message may include an attachment that supposedly contains a copy of the complaint and contact information for Mr. Stewart.

THESE EMAIL MESSAGES ARE A HOAX. DO NOT RESPOND.

The Department of Justice did not send these unsolicited email messages—and would not send such messages to the public via email. Similar hoaxes have been recently perpetrated in the names of various governmental entities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Internal Revenue Service. Email users should be especially wary of unsolicited warning messages that purport to come from U.S. governmental agencies directing them to click on file attachments or to provide sensitive personal information.

These spam email messages are bogus and should be immediately deleted. Computers may be put at risk simply by an attempt to examine these messages for signs of fraud. It is possible that by “double-clicking” on attachments to these messages, recipients will cause malicious software – e.g., viruses, keystroke loggers, or other Trojan horse programs – to be launched on their computers.

Do not open any attachment to such messages. Delete the e-mail. Empty the deleted items folder.

If you have received this, or a similar hoax, please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.

Consumers can learn more about protecting themselves from malicious spyware and bogus e-mails at OnGuardOnline.gov, a Web site created by the Department of Justice in partnership with other federal agencies and the technology industry to help consumers stay safe online. The site features modules on spyware and phishing, at http://onguardonline.gov/spyware.html and http://onguardonline.gov/phishing.html

###

07-465

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1858188/posts

Babbin: “In the Words of Our Enemies”
davidlimbaugh.com ^ | 06/28/07 | david limbaugh

Posted on 06/29/2007 3:23:32 AM PDT by lancer256

Almost as upsetting as the fact that the United States is engaged in a long-term global war against radical Islamists is that a shocking percentage of people seem predisposed against grasping it.

To the perennially oblivious, we are in a war of choice in Iraq, which, among other “elective” actions, is stoking extremism and provoking retaliatory action against us. If we will just cease and desist these actions and otherwise alter those policies giving rise to grievances among radical Muslims, their rage will subside and they’ll quit targeting us for extinction.

Those afflicted with this line of thinking not only believe it is our actions and policies that cause terrorists to hate us, but that many of those actions and policies are indeed objectionable.

That is, many of those who think global jihadists can be pacified uncoincidentally also believe they have legitimate complaints against the United States.

To these critics, America is not a shining city on a hill, not a beacon of freedom, not an exemplar of civil liberties, but, under the evil Bush administration at least, a nation that intermeddles in other nations’ civil wars and ethnic disputes, systematically abuses and tortures enemy prisoners, spies on its own innocent citizens, runs roughshod over other nations in dictating its will on the international stage and is inhospitable to illegal immigrants.

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

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=%22Miguel+Serrano%22&btnG=Search+News

http://blog.silive.com/advanceupdate/2007/06/feds_find_huge_stash_of_chemic.html

“Feds find huge stash of chemicals in Graniteville home and Mariners Harbor storage facility; 1 arrested; Authorities do not believe incident to be terror-related”
Posted by Staten Island Advance June 29, 2007 3:56AM
Categories: Breaking News

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Fears of home-grown terrorism shuttered through Graniteville last night when local and federal authorities uncovered about 2,500 pounds of potentially explosive chemicals stashed in a home and nearby storage facility.

Potassium nitrate, sulfur, mercury and peroxide were among the 21 different types of chemicals discovered during a raid of 199 Ada Drive, police said. Quantities ranged from 5 pounds to 215 pounds, according to one law enforcement official speaking on the condition on anonymity.

The disturbing discovery led to the evacuation of more than 200 residents from 56 homes on Ada Drive, between Elson Court and Arlene Court.

At the nearby Public Storage Facility at 1107 Goethals Road North in Mariners Harbor, cops found 2,500 pounds of potassium nitrate, a component in gunpowder. The chemical, also known as saltpeter, is commercially used as fertilizer, cleaning solvent for septic tanks and meat preservative.

Investigators say Miguel Serrano, 57, the homeowner of 199 Ada Drive, who was also renting the storage space, had purchased the chemicals in bulk and was reselling them for a profit on the Internet.”

http://blog.silive.com/advanceupdate/2007/06/a_night_they_will_never_forget.html

“A night they will never forget”
Posted by Staten Island Advance June 29, 2007 3:50AM
Categories: Breaking News

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