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Locked on 01/02/2008 8:57:28 PM PST by Religion Moderator, reason:
New thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1947527/posts |
Posted on 12/01/2007 8:47:13 PM PST by nwctwx
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http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_921.html
Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
This information is current as of today, Sun Dec 30 2007 00:39:08 GMT-0800 (PST).
IRAQ
July 23, 2007
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1945855/posts
“Iraq on Saddam anniversary alert”
BBC News ^ | 30 December 2007 | Staff
Posted on 12/30/2007 12:15:56 AM PST by Aristotelian
US-CERT.GOV
http://www.us-cert.gov
###
###
http://www.securecomputing.net.au/feature/4097,web-threats-make-their-mark-on-0708.aspx
“Web threats make their mark on 07/08”
Negar Salek Dec 24 2007 09:26
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The new year is supposed to signal a fresh start for us all, but web threats will continue to reign in 2008, wreaking havoc just as they did this year
Practically every security vendor predicts web threats – embedding of malicious code on popular websites – will be the vector cybercriminals use to wreak havoc in 2008.”
QUOTE:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1944663/posts?page=109#109
NOTE: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1945857/posts
A face in the crowd: Benazir Bhutto’s assassin (new photos)
Sunday Telegraph (UK) ^ | December 30, 2007 | Massoud Ansari, Junian Kossoff
Posted on 12/30/2007 1:09:26 AM PST by HAL9000
Excerpt -
“Long live Bhutto,” Benazir Bhutto shouted, waving to the crowd surging around her car. They were her last words before three gunshots rang out and she slumped back on to her seat.
“She did not say anything more,” said Safdar Abbassi, her chief political adviser, who was sitting behind her.
In the first eyewitness account from inside the car, Dr Abbassi told The Sunday Telegraph: “All of a sudden there was the sound of firing. I heard the sound of a bullet.”I saw her: she looked as though she ducked in when she heard the firing. We did not realise that she had been hit by a bullet.”
[photo]
~ snip ~
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
#
“A face in the crowd: Benazir Bhutto’s assassin”
By Massoud Ansari in Ghari Khuda Bakhsh, and Julian Kossoff
Last Updated: 8:19am GMT 30/12/2007
SNIPPET: “”Long live Bhutto,” Benazir Bhutto shouted, waving to the crowd surging around her car. They were her last words before three gunshots rang out and she slumped back on to her seat.
Pakistan offers to exhume Benazir Bhutto
Watch: The ‘assassination video’ released by the Pakistan government
Watch: Eyewitness account of the killing (Note: Graphic content)”
#
Video - Link:
109 posted on 12/30/2007 1:22:36 AM PST by Cindy
ISTANBUL -- The Turkish security troops have captured 19 al-Qaeda suspects, a security source said on Saturday. The source added that the police forces were chasing terrorist cells that planned to launch terrorist attacks in the main Turkish cities.
The NTV quoted the security source as saying that the suspects had been caught in the cities of Axari, Ankara and Adhna and that they would be referred to court charged with planning to launch terrorist attacks in the country.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1871259&Language=en
Morocco jails 15 Islamists on terror charges
12/29/2007
RABAT - Morocco's anti-terrorist tribunal has jailed 15 Islamists for between one and four years in three separate cases on conviction of terrorist activity or connections, the MAP news agency reported yesterday.
The special court in Sale near Rabat sentenced seven people late on Thursday to between one and two years in prison after the prosecution accused them of links to May 2003 attacks in Casablanca, which killed 45 people including 12 suicide bombers.
Another group of seven were jailed for four years each, after being found guilty of receiving paramilitary training with Algeria's extremist Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which was in January renamed the Al Qaeda Branch of the Islamic Maghreb.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Traditional New Year's Eve fireworks in central Brussels have been canceled due to a continuing terror threat in the Belgian capital, officials said Sunday. The popular downtown Christmas market will close early, at 6 p.m., on Dec. 31 rather than staying open all night, and the adjacent skating rink will shut at 8 p.m.
Authorities warned of an increased risk of attack after police last week detained 14 people suspected of plotting to help an accused al-Qaida militant break out of jail.
Excerpted
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071230/ap_on_re_eu/belgium_terrorism
2 suicide bombers die by prematurely detonating their bomb in Pakistan
December 29, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani police say two suspected suicide bombers were killed when their explosives detonated prematurely. The incident happened near the residence of a senior leader of the ruling party in eastern Pakistan. He is a former minister for religious affairs, and was in charge of the ministry in July when the government launched a military operation against a militant-linked mosque in Islamabad. More than 100 people were killed in the conflict at the mosque and the former minister is reportedly on a militant hit list. He was not at home at the time of Sunday's attack.
The blast is the first suicide attack in Pakistan since the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Thursday. Her killing has triggered nationwide riots that have killed 44 people over three days. It has also raised doubts about whether parliamentary elections set for January 8th can go ahead as planned.
http://www.wlos.com/template/inews_wire/wires.international/26310a82-www.wlos.com.shtml
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=mexico
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=zetas
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=border
#
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1946021/posts
“Commando attack leaves 7 officers dead[Zacatecas, Mexico]”
Express-News ^ | 12/29/2007 | Sean Mattson
Posted on 12/30/2007 1:12:24 PM PST by SwinneySwitch
MONTERREY, Mexico
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019378.php
December 30, 2007
“”Jihad: war against non-Muslims to convert them to Islam’”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Pop quiz! Who said that?”
(Hint: Click on the link above to find out the answer.)
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1946083/posts
Travelers Advisory: U.S. limits lithium batteries on flights
Custom Market Watch ^ | 12-30-07
Posted on 12/30/2007 4:14:11 PM PST by Cagey
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) - Flying well-equipped for business and pleasure gets a bit more complicated on Jan. 1, as the U.S. Transportation Department bars travelers from packing loose lithium batteries in checked luggage.
The move is designed to help minimize the risk that such batteries could overheat and catch fire on board, the agency’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said in a statement on Friday.
The new rules say travelers can bring a laptop computer, digital camera, cellphone and other equipment on board or in checked luggage if their lithium batteries are installed in the items.
And flyers can bring spare batteries in carry-on luggage if they’re stored in plastic bags or if they’re in the original retail packaging. But travelers can bring only as many as two such spare batteries, and each must be packed separately.
(Excerpt) Read more at custom.marketwatch.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1946086/posts
“Pirate Hunting Drone Boats Unleashed”
DefenseTech ^ | December 27, 2007 07:43 AM
Posted on 12/30/2007 4:26:47 PM PST by Calpernia
This simplifies it.
New Lithium Battery Rules for U.S. Airplanes
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/12/new_lithium_bat_1.html
Starting in 2008, there are new rules for bringing lithium batteries on
airplanes:
The following quantity limits apply to both your spare and installed
batteries. The limits are expressed in grams of “equivalent lithium
content.” 8 grams of equivalent lithium content is approximately 100
watt-hours. 25 grams is approximately 300 watt-hours:
* Under the new rules, you can bring batteries with up to 8-gram
equivalent lithium content. All lithium ion batteries in cell phones are
below 8 gram equivalent lithium content. Nearly all laptop computers also
are below this quantity threshold.
* You can also bring up to two spare batteries with an aggregate
equivalent lithium content of up to 25 grams, in addition to any batteries
that fall below the 8-gram threshold. Examples of two types of lithium ion
batteries with equivalent lithium content over 8 grams but below 25 are
shown below.
* For a lithium metal battery, whether installed in a device or
carried as a spare, the limit on lithium content is 2 grams of lithium metal
per battery.
* Almost all consumer-type lithium metal batteries are below 2 grams
of lithium metal. But if you are unsure, contact the manufacturer!
Near as I can tell, this affects pretty much no one except audio/visual
professionals. And the TSA isn’t saying whether this is a safety issue or a
security issue.
Thank you very much Bobibutu.
That does simplify it.
US special forces snatch squads are on standby to seize or disable Pakistan's nuclear arsenal in the event of a collapse of government authority or the outbreak of civil war following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
The troops, augmented by volunteer scientists from America's Nuclear Emergency Search Team organisation, are under orders to take control of an estimated 60 warheads dispersed around six to 10 high-security Pakistani military bases.
Military sources say contingency plans have been reviewed over the past three days to prevent any of Pakistan's atomic weapons falling into the hands of Islamic extremists if the administration of President Pervez Musharraf appears threatened by civil unrest.
Excerpted
Additional information on news item posted earlier:
5 suspected al-Qaeda militants arrested in Turkey, including high school teacher
December 30, 2007
ANKARA, Turkey – Five accused members of an alleged al-Qaeda sleeper cell – including a high school teacher – were ordered jailed Sunday on terror charges, reports said.
They were among 19 people detained in a sweep Saturday in four cities: Istanbul, Ankara, Aksaray, and the southern city of Adana, the state-run Anatolia news agency said. The others were released pending trial, the report said. Police also seized firearms, bullets, fake ID cards and other documents, Anatolia said.
The group is an alleged al-Qaeda “sleeper cell” that police had been monitoring for some time, the Milliyet daily newspaper reported. After monitoring the group for some time, police moved against the alleged cell amid fears members may have been preparing an attack, the paper said.
Among the five key suspects is an English teacher from a high school in the central city of Aksaray, Anatolia said. Police in Ankara did not comment on the report.
Excerpted
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20071230-0408-turkey-al-qaida.html
“...US special forces snatch squads are on standby...”
I assumed something such as this had happened but I wonder why it was leaked and for whom it was leaked.
Snippets: Secret plans have been drawn up to remove more than 100 nuclear weapons from Pakistan to stop them falling into the hands of Islamic extremists.
CIA chiefs fear that by 2015 the Taliban could be running the country, giving its radical leaders control of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
M J Gohel of the London- based think tank Asia-Pacific Foundation, said: “It’s only a matter of time before Al Qaeda or somebody sympathetic to them gets hold of nuclear weapons. Pakistan is the weakest link in the chain. It is the most unstable nuclear country in the world.”
Pakistan’s missiles would be unable to reach the US or UK and its American F-16 bombers would be detected before reaching any Western country.
Much more likely is nuclear material being used in a dirty bomb, that could be detonated in major cities such as London, Washington and New York.
MUMBAI - In stepping down as head of the military, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf bet his future on gaining political legitimacy. Following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the chances of that occurring have diminished sharply.
Excerpted
Bhutto's End Could Mean Musharraf's As Well
Growing Fury At Musharraf Deepens Crisis
December 31, 2007
Pakistan's political crisis escalated as the party of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said it would run in next week's parliamentary elections and urged supporters to channel outrage over her death into opposition to President Pervez Musharraf's regime.
Excerpted
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119900991521857993.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news
Pakistan may not make it
Monday December 31, 2007
With the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's survival depends on the outcome of a struggle between the army and Bhutto's Pakistan People's party, now headed by her 19-year-old son Bilawal. The protagonists are mismatched and the odds are that Pakistan will not make it.
Excerpted
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2233476,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
Creating a Haven for Al Qaeda
Pakistan's Paradoxical Relationship With Trans-National Terrorism
12/30/07
Al Qaeda is as strong as it has been since the Sept. 11 attacks, in large part because it has been able to find a home in Pakistan, despite President Pervez Musharraf's claims to be trying to help in the West's war on terror.
Excerpted
Interesting, thank you MamaD. Also interesting were the two comments posted at the end of the article.
AL-AZHAR, Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning, has said any woman pregnant by rape must abort the baby immediately to maintain "social stability".
Imam sends death threat to official
The Kingdom’s Cassation Court (appeals court) will hear the case of a Saudi imam who was jailed by a court in Hail. The imam allegedly threatened to kill the head of the branch of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Hail. The head had suspended the imam from his duties for using anti-Western slogans in his sermons.
Jailing the intended victims of honor killings for their own good
n an attempt to protect high-profile Muslim and ex-Muslim dissidents who have had fatwas issued against them: Taslima Nasreen or Ayaan Hirsi Ali, for example, the “good” people have been forced to jail them, not their attackers. Today, Nasreen says she is a “virtual prisoner” in Delhi where, for her own safety, the Indian government has stashed her after a mob of fanatic Islamists tried to kill her. When Hirsi Ali was similarly threatened, the Dutch government was forced to essentially “jail” Hirsi Ali for her own good.
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