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Posted on 02/01/2008 6:55:58 PM PST by nwctwx
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=russia
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http://www.serbianna.com/news/2008/01512.shtml
“Russia Warns Palestinians Could Follow Kosovo Example”
February 25, 2008
AFP
MOSCOW (AFP)-
________________________________________
FBI Raids Memphis Truck Driving Schools
Memphis, TN - Federal and state agents raided two Mid-South truck driving schools and a Memphis driver's license center on February 25, 2008. Both schools, one on Brooks Road in Memphis, and the other on Veterans Parkway in Millington, are operated by Swift Transportation. The state run license center on Shelby Drive in Whitehaven was also targeted in the investigation.
The FBI confirms that documents were seized during the raids but a spokesperson says no arrests were made. Sources say the feds are looking for information about truck drivers who illegally obtained their commercial drivers licenses. While the investigation continues, the Tennessee Department of Safety announced that the licensing centers inside the schools and the one on Shelby Drive aren't allowed to issue any new Commercial Driver’s Licenses.
"That's messed up," says Memphian Dewayne Matlock, who was stunned when troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol turned him and dozens of others away from the licensing station on Shelby Drive. When told why Memphis drivers couldn't take care of their business at that drivers license station Monday, February 25, 2008, Matlock responded, "If that's what it takes to keep us safe, it's worth it." David Turner, whose beer distribution company employs truckers, says if the investigation revolves around the issuing of fraudulent commercial drivers licenses, that means there are truck drivers on the road who don't have the training needed to drive safely.
"That's very scary," says Turner. "I hope that's not what's going on. But that's part of what the Department of Transportation's job is and part of the FBI's job. That's why they're here. So there must be problems." At the West Memphis Pilot truck stop, long-haul trucker Daimond Blackmon says inexperienced drivers give the trucking industry a bad name when it's already getting criticized. "I mean, this is real serious," says Blackmon.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, large trucks make up just 4-percent of all registered vehicles in the U.S. Yet big rigs are involved in 11-percent of all fatal crashes. And when a tractor trailer collides with a car, statistics provided by RoadSafeAmerica.org, say 98-percent of deaths occur in the car.
That's why Daimond Blackmon says a poorly trained trucker doesn't belong on the road. "Oh, Lord no," says Blackmon. "With a fraudulent license you don't get to learn what it really takes to drive." Blackmon says the government should definitely put the brakes on phony CDL's. "I think the U.S. needs to come down on that and do something to prevent that from happening," says Blackmon. "Because if they don't, there's going to be a lot more accidents out here with truckers."
Swift Transportation employs 21,000 drivers in more than 40 locations around the country. A company spokesperson says Swift is cooperating fully with law enforcement and that they have been advised Swift is not the target of the investigation. The raids were headed by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. Other agencies include the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the A-T-F, the United States Secret Service and federal immigration officials.
Rome - For the first time in Italy's history, almost all party lists will contain at least one Muslim candidate in the mid-April elections, reflecting the growing influence of immigrants in politics.
Souad Sbai, the Moroccan Women's Association president is among prominent Muslim figures who Italy's various parties hope will run for office on their ticket. Sbai is also a member of Italy's Consulta Islamica, a government-appointed consultative body for Muslims in Italy.
Italy's political right has been especially courting Sbai. Over the weekend, Maurizio Gasparri, MP for the conservative National Alliance party, said he had approached Sbai, and hoped she would join its electoral list.
Excerpted
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=1.0.1915105896
UPDATE to Memphis, Tennessee by Oorang.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963607/posts?page=1222#1222
Both schools, one on Brooks Road in Memphis, and the other on Veterans Parkway in Millington, are operated by Swift Transportation.
David police seek 2 men in theft of $11,000 worth of cell phones
Davie - Police need help identifying two masked men seen stealing $11,000 worth of cell phones at a closed business, an agency spokesman said Tuesday.
The burglary happened at early Monday at Mobile Media, 6403 Stirling Road, police spokesman Lt. Wayne Boulier said. About 6:25 a.m., three people arrived at the store, pried open a back entrance and knocked out a surveillance camera near that wall.
Two men entered the store and loaded plastic trash bags with cell phones while a third person stood outside and handed them more trash bags, Boulier said.
In less than 20 minutes, they took 50 to 60 cell phones valued at $11,000. The trio then took off in an unknown vehicle, Boulier said. "They targeted the store." Boulier said.
ADDING to post no. 1198:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/020108.php
(AP)
February 26, 2008
“U.K.: 7 convicted for operating, participating in jihadist training camps on British soil”
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Previously...
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019184.php
(DAILY RECORD.co.uk)
December 16, 2007
“Accused jihadist: We were hunting Loch Ness Monster”
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Previoulsy...a few more details:
“Terror Accused: We Were Hunting Loch Ness Monster”
Dec 15 2007 By Paul O’Hare
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “AN ELECTRICIAN accused of being a Muslim holy warrior claimed he was hunting Nessie during an alleged jihad training course.
Somali-born Kader Ahmed, 20, told a court he went on a trip arranged by preacher Mohammed Hamid, 50, to Scotland at Christmas 2004.
He said they visited Inverness and Loch Ness and added: “I’d never been to Scotland before. It was very cold when we went up. It was snowing.
“It was very beautiful as well. I had never seen reindeer before.”
He said they stopped near Loch Ness for a few days, sleeping in their minibus as it was too cold to camp, and tried to spot the elusive monster.
Ahmed, from east London, admits going on camping trips and paintballing sessions with Hamid’s group, who included four of the men later convicted of the plot to bomb London on July 21, 2005.
But the trainee electrician, who was 17 when he met Hamid, told Woolwich Crown Court he assumed it was harmless fun “like Scouts or Cadets”.”
“...like Scouts or Cadets.”
Ummm...No.
Sighing...Global jihad and Global War On Terror — another day.
Thanks MamaDearest for posting the cell phones’ theft.
I added a link to the theft here on this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1682087/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1682087/posts?page=373#373
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=tb
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=tuberculosis
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080227/NATION/833691809/1001
Page 1 of 2
“Drug-resistant TB cases increase, WHO warns”
By Amy Fagan
February 27, 2008
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/02/20080225-1.html
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 25, 2008
Statement by the Press Secretary on FISA
There is an old rhetorical tactic in Washington: you repeat something often enough, regardless of whether it’s true, and hope people will start to believe it. This has been the preferred tactic of many Democrats involved in the FISA debate, and the Democratic chairmen of the House and Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees employ it again in an op-ed published today in the Washington Post.
They claim that the Administration is using “scare tactics” and they claim that there is no cost to Congress’ failure to pass long-term FISA modernization that will preserve the vital powers provided by the Protect America Act (PAA). Notably, the most critical point of dispute in the debate - the need for retroactive liability protection for private partners alleged to have assisted the Nation after September 11 — barely even registers in their op-ed.
The President has called on Congress to pass the bipartisan Senate bill, which would improve on the PAA by giving our intelligence professionals the tools they need to protect the Nation for the long term and by providing liability protection for companies alleged to have assisted in defending the Nation after 9/11. The House ignored this call and allowed the PAA to expire without replacing it with the bipartisan Senate bill. The President has listened to the judgment of these same professionals that the absence of long-term legislation creates uncertainty that poses a risk to those tools and could lead to the loss of intelligence information and that further short-term extensions of the PAA do not solve the problem. Stating that fact is not a scare tactic - it reflects the considered judgment of the intelligence community, whose principal concern is not politics, but doing their jobs.
That the failure to enact long-term FISA modernization legislation is costly and dangerous is beyond any serious dispute. The Intelligence Community lost intelligence information last week because of the uncertainty caused by Congress’ failure to act. It is unlikely that this information can ever be recovered. Our private sector partners have serious concerns about the multibillion-dollar lawsuits some companies are currently facing only because they are believed to have helped defend the country after 9/11. These lawsuits are abusive and, if they are allowed to proceed, would serve only to line the pockets of class-action trial lawyers. The private sector has similar concerns that, without statutory protection provided by long-term FISA modernization legislation, they may be exposing themselves to additional abusive lawsuits by cooperating in current efforts. Very late last week the Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence were able to secure the continued cooperation of private partners - but only reluctantly, and with the possibility that they may discontinue their cooperation if the uncertainty persists.
The authors of the op-ed reject the judgment of the Intelligence Community and say that we can and should revert back to the old FISA process - a process that everyone agrees led to delays and at times the inability to collect certain intelligence - even from foreign targets on foreign soil. In other words, the authors would have us revert back to the very same conditions that created dangerous intelligence gaps in the past and that gave rise to the need for the PAA reforms in the first place. The PAA authorities - which are preserved and improved on in important ways in the bipartisan Senate bill - were designed to give the intelligence community the speed and agility needed for today’s threats. FISA requires the intelligence community to make a finding of probable cause, even if the target of surveillance is not in the United States. Probable cause, a standard for protecting the civil liberties of American citizens, was never intended to be expanded to protect the rights of foreign terrorists overseas. Showing probable cause often takes time, is sometimes impossible, and makes intelligence officers spend valuable time convincing lawyers that this standard is met, rather than doing their most important task - hunting down terrorists and other foreign threats.
Furthermore, the cooperation of private entities in our intelligence operations is not ancillary - it is integral to our operations and critically essential. As Director McConnell has explained, there would be no effective surveillence without the cooperation of private partners. The grave concerns raised by our private partners, combined with the House Democratic leadership’s determination to block liability protection, seriously jeopardizes cooperation in the future. This is not a risk we should be taking.
To assert that the Administration has not worked cooperatively with Congress on legislation is disingenuous at best. Officials from DoJ and ODNI have spent countless hours working with the Senate over the past two years, consulting and providing technical assistance; officials have repeatedly testified both in public and classified hearings; the Administration has provided unprecedented access to classified documents in order to accommodate the requests of congressional committees; and the Administration agreed to a six-month limit on the PAA and an additional 15-day extension to allow time to perfect and pass a new bill. The fruit of this extensive level of cooperation is a thoughtful, bipartisan Senate bill that earned a super-majority in the Senate, passing by a 68-29 vote.
By contrast, Democratic leaders in the House went their own way and barely consulted with the Intelligence Community. As a result of their commitment to pursuing their political goals rather than listening to the advice of intelligence professionals, they have produced a dangerously flawed and unacceptable bill containing provisions that failed when debated as amendments in the Senate, and no retroactive liability protection for companies alleged to have assisted in defending the Nation after 9/11.
Attempting to “reconcile” the starkly different views of the strong, bipartisan majority of the Senate with the irresponsible, minority position House Democratic leaders have taken to appease trial lawyers and MoveOn.org is probably impossible and certainly unnecessary. Given the stated views of both Republicans and Democrats, if House leaders would bring the Senate bill up for a vote, it would pass with a bipartisan majority.
Pointing out the cost of Congress’ failure to act is not a “scare tactic” and it is not a “wedge issue”. Instead it is a sober, transparent assessment of the terrorist threat our nation faces, and the critical importance of the needs of our intelligence community to combat that threat. Unless this threat is taken more seriously in Congress, the ability to obtain the intelligence we need will be at risk, and with it our national security.
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www.alhesbah.net/v/showthread.php?t=163825
#
http://memriiwmp.org/content/en/report.htm?report=2524
MEMRI IWMP.com blog:
“Islamist Forum Member Suggests Stirring Up Racial Tension in U.S.”
No. 1853 - February 27, 2008 -
SNIPPET: “A message posted January 20, 2008 on the Islamist forum Al-Hesbah (hosted by NOC4Hosts Inc. in Florida, USA), by a member calling himself Al-Jawfi, suggests stirring up racial tension between African-Americans and whites in the U.S. by spreading inflammatory materials on the Internet.”
A little early morning Iranian propaganda...
Note: The following blog entry is a quote:
http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/5716.htm
Jordanian Intelligence Contributed To Mughniya Assassination
In an editorial, the Iranian daily Jomhouri-e Eslami stated that the investigation of the assassination of senior Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniya shows that Jordanian intelligence contributed greatly to the operation.
The paper also stated that the security apparatuses of “the treasonous Arab regimes” were serving as pawns of the U.S. and Israel.
Source: Jomhouri-e Eslami , Iran, February 25, 2008
Posted at: 2008-02-26
Off Topic, but fyi:
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/02/20080225.html
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 25, 2008
President and Mrs. Bush to Welcome King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan to White House
White House News
The President and Mrs. Bush will welcome King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan to the White House on Tuesday, March 4, 2008. The President looks forward to discussing with the King the bilateral relationship between the United States and Jordan, Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, the situation in Lebanon, and other regional issues. Following his meeting with King Abdullah, the President and Mrs. Bush will host the King and Queen for a private lunch.
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Fyi Only.
Thanks to Eye of Unk for the earthquake info.
QUOTE:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1975807/posts?page=80#80
To: Cindy
Earthquake jolts southern Iran
Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:28:43
A mild earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale has rattled the outskirts of Kaki, a city in the Iranian province of Bushehr.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=44733§ionid=3510212
80 posted on 02/27/2008 4:19:54 AM PST by Eye of Unk
blog:
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/191444.php
February 26, 2008
“US Muslim Helps Convicted Felon and al-Qaeda Supporter Adbullah al-Faisal”
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_927.html
Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
This information is current as of today, Wed Feb 27 2008 04:43:01 GMT-0800 (PST).
NEPAL
February 25, 2008
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3967.html
Travel Alert
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Wed Feb 27 2008 04:46:20 GMT-0800 (PST).
Guyana
February 26, 2008
This Travel Alert is being issued to inform U.S. citizens of safety and security concerns throughout Guyana following recent events in Lusignan and Bartica by armed criminal elements. This Travel Alert expires on May 1, 2008.
U.S. citizens should carefully consider the risks of travel to Guyana in light of recent attacks in the Georgetown suburb of Lusignan and the Essequibo River town of Bartica. In both places, attacks were conducted by heavily armed gangs. The January 26 and February 17 attacks resulted in the deaths of twenty Guyanese civilians, including five children, and three Guyanese police officers. Due to the seemingly random nature of these crimes, the disparate locations in which they occurred, and the fact that the perpetrators have not all yet been apprehended, additional attacks in other parts of the country cannot be ruled out.
The U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens traveling in Guyana to maintain a high level of vigilance, consider security issues when planning activities throughout Guyana, minimize movement when possible while avoiding large crowds, and not to travel at night. Guyanese authorities are conducting an investigation in response to the recent incidents and may institute further actions or precautions, including roadblocks or other measures.
For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs internet website at http://travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution and Country Specific Information can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the U.S. and Canada or, for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
The U.S. Embassy in Georgetown can be reached at 592-225-4900 through 225-4909; the after-hours emergency number is 592-623-1992; the fax number is 592-225-8497. The Embassy’s web site, which includes country information for Guyana, is at http://georgetown.usembassy.gov/.
https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=80374
YOU ARE HERE: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report
“Warden Message: Cameroon Security Precautions”
CONSULAR AFFAIRS BULLETINS
Sub-Saharan Africa - Cameroon
26 Feb 2008
PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
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