Posted on 03/05/2008 5:59:39 PM PST by nwctwx
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2008/s08030076.htm
Thursday, March 13, 2008
“Burma: Thousands Of Karen Civilians Displaced In Fresh Attacks As UN Envoy Visit Fails”
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “KAREN STATE, BURMA (MYANMAR) (ANS) — The Burma Army has launched fresh attacks on civilians in northern Karen State this month, causing the displacement of over 2,100 villagers.
According to the Free Burma Rangers, a relief organization working in the conflict areas of eastern Burma, the attacks are “the largest against civilians in northern Karen State since the Burma Army completed the re-supply of its camps and construction of roads at the end of 2007.”
Over 30,000 people are displaced in northern Karen State, and it is estimated that there are over one million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Burma altogether.”
PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vugUzJ5dVj4
#
Thanks to a special freepmailer for pointing to this article:
“Gunman in UPA, students concerned about safety”
Hilda Yeghishian, William Kammer & Danielle Directo
Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: News
Placemark BUMP! Thanks to Cindy and all contributors/researchers.
You’re very welcome P Galt.
Well the lull in the Hamas rocket attack is over (no surprise), leaving me to wonder what the Israeli plan is to deal with it. So far, only the short range qassams are being used again, however Siderot find itself in the sights (the only significant, targetable population center in range). Israel has been successful in nailing Hamas leadership, and I suspect that will be the primary response for the time being. However, this does give the impression that the Israeli gov't is paralyzed between Gaza and Lebanon. Expect a long, hot summer ahead.
“Expect a long, hot summer ahead.”
Yep.
Thanks to Godzilla for the ping to this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985759/posts
“The Pentagon has taken custody of a high-level al Qaeda figure who allegedly helped Osama bin Laden”
CNN ^ | 3/14/2008 | Staff
Posted on 03/14/2008 11:02:22 AM PDT by Red in Blue PA
ADDING 1 press release to post no. 486:
March 13, 2008
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/March/08_nsd_204.html
Businessman Pleads Guilty to Supplying Indian Government with Controlled Technology
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The owner of an international electronics business has pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information arising from a conspiracy to illegally export controlled microprocessors and electronic components to government entities in India that participate in the development of ballistic missiles, space launch vehicles, and fighter jets.
The guilty plea was announced today by Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Jeffrey A. Taylor, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, FBI Washington Field Office; Darryl W. Jackson, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Julie Myers, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Parthasarathy Sudarshan, 47, a resident of Simpsonville, South Carolina, entered his guilty plea earlier today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before the Honorable Ricardo Urbina to the felony charge of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Administration Regulations; and to violate the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The Honorable Ricardo Urbina is scheduled to sentence Sudarshan on June 16, 2008.
“The defendant participated in a clandestine network that circumvented our export laws and put sophisticated technology in the hands of foreign companies that were listed as end-users of concern for proliferation reasons,” stated U.S. Attorney Taylor. “With this prosecution, the defendant will no longer be able to make a profit at the expense of our national security. This case also demonstrates the priority our government has placed on combating such networks.”
“By fraudulently acquiring and shipping controlled missile technology overseas, this defendant violated both our federal law and our national security. It is fitting that he stands convicted and faces a serious penalty for his criminal conduct,” said Assistant Attorney General Wainstein.
According to court documents filed by the government, Sudarshan did business as Cirrus Electronics (“Cirrus”) and held himself out to be Cirrus’ CEO, Managing Director, and President and Group Head. Cirrus has offices in Simpsonville, South Carolina, Singapore, and Bangalore, India.
Among the recipients of U.S. technology in this case were the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), an enterprise within the Department of Space of the Government of India, and Bharat Dynamics, Ltd. (BDL), an enterprise within the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India.
The U.S. government has determined that VSSC participates in India’s space launch vehicle program and that BDL participates in India’s development and production of ballistic missiles. As such, both VSSC and BDL are on the Department of Commerce’s Entity List and exports of U.S.-origin commodities to these entities are restricted and require prior authorization in the form of a license from the Department of Commerce.
Between 2002 and 2006, Sudarshan acquired electrical components with applications in missile guidance and firing systems in the United States for VSSC and BDL. In particular, in the case of at least two U.S. vendors, Sudarshan and others at Cirrus provided the U.S. companies with fraudulent certificates that claimed that the end-users of these electrical components were non-restricted entities in India, when, in fact, the items were for VSSC. There were no export licenses for any of the shipments to VSSC and BDL. To further conceal from the U.S. government that goods were going to entities in India on the Department of Commerce Entity List, Sudarshan would route the products through its Singapore office and then send the packages on to India.
In addition to supplying VSSC and BDL with components, Sudarshan acquired microprocessors for the Tejas, a fighter jet under development in India. The microprocessors were necessary for the navigation and weapons systems of the Tejas. Because the microprocessors are on the U.S. Munitions List, the State Department must license any export of the products. On two occasions in 2004 and 2006, Cirrus caused the shipment of a total of 500 microprocessors to the Aeronautical Development Establishment, an enterprise within the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India that was responsible for the development of the Tejas. There were no licenses for these shipments.
“Today’s plea illustrates the FBI’s commitment to ensure the safety and security of our nation’s citizens and our country’s protected national security information and technology,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Persichini. “The FBI also recognizes the invaluable investigative assistance provided by the Department of Commerce Office of Export Enforcement.”
“One of the highest enforcement priorities of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security is ensuring that dual-use items don’t end up in dangerous hands,” said Commerce Assistant Secretary Jackson. “The Department of Commerce’s Entity List puts exporters on notice regarding end-users that are of proliferation concern. This case demonstrates that we will take action against those exporters who evade our export control system.”
“The customs laws of the United States are in place to ensure that sensitive technologies do not fall into the wrong hands. When exporters skirt the law or cover up their activities to fill their own pockets, they do so at the expense of national security. We will aggressively pursue these cases and see that those who violate export regulations are prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Myers.
In announcing today’s guilty plea, Assistant Attorney General Wainstein, U.S. Attorney Taylor, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Persichini, Commerce Assistant Secretary Jackson, and ICE Assistant Secretary Myers praised FBI Special Agents Russell Nimmo, Julie Hendrix, James Walker, Charles E. Price II, Reed Wilson and FBI Supervisory special agent Raymond Lyons; Department of Commerce Special Agents Philip Kuhn, and Jody Bankins; and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agents David Hepler and Christopher Malone:
They also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Max Cauthen of the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorney Clifford I. Rones of the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division for their assistance with the case. Lastly, they commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jay I. Bratt and Anthony Asuncion, who are prosecuting the case.
###
08-204
Details are this guy was caught last YEAR. Nice to know we can still keep some secrets.
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/wallstreet/
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/manhattan
#
Thanks to Kimberly GG for the ping to this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985588/posts
Wall Street Terror Threat From al Qaeda Non-specific
National Terror Alert ^ | March 14, 2008 | Staff
Posted on 03/14/2008 6:35:45 AM PDT by jdm
#
http://www.wnbc.com/investigations/15580957/detail.html
“Nonspecific Terror Threat To Wall Street”
Jonathan Dienst
POSTED: 11:59 pm EDT March 12, 2008
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “NEW YORK — Law enforcement officials alerted Wall Street firms Wednesday of a new, non-specific terror threat centering on lower Manhattan, WNBC.com has learned.
Law enforcement officials stress the threat is based on unverified intelligence from overseas but was time-specific. The non-specific threat information suggests an al Qaeda terror would like to strike the city sometime this month, a security official said on condition of anonymity.
An NYPD spokesman said the department is aware of the threat and is taking added precautions. The spokesman stressed there is no credible information any plot is imminent, but extra measures will be in place until officials learn more about the overseas sourcing.”
“Nice to know we can still keep some secrets.”
Smiling at you.
Yep, yep, yep.
March 12, 2008
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://newhaven.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/2008/nh031208.htm
NEW YORK RESIDENTS INDICTED ON FEDERAL MONEY LAUNDERING, CASH SMUGGLING CHARGES
Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford has returned an Indictment charging HASSAN ABUZAITOUN, 35, and MOHAMMAD ALAZZAM, 33, both naturalized U.S. citizens from Jordan residing in Yonkers , New York , with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to smuggle bulk cash from the United States . ABUZAITOUN also is charged with making false statements to federal law enforcement officers. The three-count Indictment was returned on February 26.
The Indictment alleges that ABUZAITOUN and ALAZZAM engaged in transferring bulk quantities of cash from the United States to Jordan , for the purpose of concealing the true ownership of the funds and evading the United States ’ cash reporting requirements. The Indictment further alleges that ABUZAITOUN, ALAZZAM and others then conspired to attempt to smuggle $500,000 in cash from the United States to Jordan , which cash was represented to be the fruits of a credit card fraud scheme.
Finally, the Indictment alleges that, on February 18, 2008 , ABUZAITOUN made false statements to federal law enforcement officers investigating this alleged money laundering and cash smuggling scheme.
ABUZAITOUN and ALAZZAM have been detained since their arrest on February 18, 2008 .
The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $500,000. The charge of conspiracy to smuggle bulk cash carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of making a false statement carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.
U.S. Attorney O’Connor stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial at which it is the Government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being investigated by the United States Secret Service; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation Division, and U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David A. Ring.
http://boston.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel08/bombthreat031108.pdf
“MASSACHUSETTS MAN ARRESTED FOR MAKING ALLEGED BOMB THREAT TO LOS ANGELES AIRPORT CONTAINING REFERENCES TO ACTRESS BOSTON, MA”
PRESS RELEASE SNIPPET: “BOSTON, MA - A Holliston, Massachusetts man was arrested today for allegedly mailing a bomb threat from Massachusetts to the Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles, California that references actress Jodie Foster. United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - New England Field Division and Randy Miskanic, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, announced today that MICHAEL SMEGAL, age 42...”
Fyi Only.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985828/posts
#
http://www.kptv.com/news/15598019/detail.html
“Car Crashes Into KXL Radio Building”
POSTED: 1:41 pm PDT March 14, 2008
UPDATED: 1:45 pm PDT March 14, 2008
PORTLAND, Ore. —
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The crash happened at about 1 p.m. at the KXL building on Bancroft Street.
The car involved is described as a white Toyota Corolla with a license plate of 683-RYU.”
Adding 1 thread to post no. 489:
Thanks to jdm for the ping to this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985847/posts
“Breaking: Americans nab high-value Osama lieutenant”
Hot Air ^ | March 14, 2008 | by Ed Morrissey
Posted on 03/14/2008 2:54:48 PM PDT by jdm
ADDING to post no. 497:
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=49283
Defense Department Takes Custody of High-Value Al Qaeda Operative
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 14, 2008 – The Defense Department has taken custody of a “high-value” al Qaeda operative, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said today.
Whitman said that Muhammad Rahim is now in custody at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Rahim is a high-level member of al Qaeda and a close associate of Osama bin Laden. “Prior to his arrival in Guantanamo, he has been held in CIA custody,” Whitman said.
Rahim is from Afghanistan’s Nangahar province and had close ties to al Qaeda organizations throughout the Middle East. “He is one of (bin Laden’s) most trusted facilitators and procurement specialists,” Whitman said.
Rahim prepared the Tora Bora complex as a hideout for bin Laden, and assisted in al Qaeda’s exodus from the area in late 2001. He joined the terror organization in the mid-1990s, first procuring supplies and later as a courier. He personally carried messages from bin Laden to al Qaeda leaders.
“He had knowledge of or was involved in al Qaeda attacks planned against coalition forces in Afghanistan,” Whitman said. “At the time of his capture, he was providing support to anti-coalition militias, and groups allied with al Qaeda.”
Before 2002, Rahim procured chemicals for an al Qaeda plot targeting U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and he worked with al Qaeda paramilitary commanders to recruit individuals who had access to U.S. military bases.
Rahim will be treated appropriately and humanely, in accordance with policies and procedures for other DoD detainees at Guantanamo, Whitman said. “He will be treated in accordance with U.S. law and international obligations, including the convention against torture, Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, the Detainee Treatment Act, the Military Commissions Act and applicable DoD directives and instructions governing detainees operations,” he said.
This is the first transfer to Guantanamo since August. The last high-value detainee transferred was in April 2007. Sixteen high-value detainees are under DoD control at Guantanamo. There are 280 detainees at the facility.
“It’s always important to remember that intelligence is one of our most important tools in the war on terror,” Whitman said. “It’s been essential in developing our knowledge of al Qaeda’s structures, operations, finances, logistics, criminal activity, safe routes, safe havens and intentions to conduct further attacks.”
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=49282
General Lays Out Challenges of Defending Cyberspace
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb., March 14, 2008 – Air Force Minuteman and Navy Trident missiles stand outside the headquarters of U.S. Strategic Command here as reminders of the command’s mission of strategic deterrence and nuclear operations.
But walking past the missiles are servicemembers using cell phones and other wireless devices. And that, too, represents a mission of the command: cyberspace operations.
Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said defense networks see more than a million suspicious “hits” a day.
“These are pings where someone is coming in and trying to open something or access information from someone within our military networks,” Chilton said during an interview March 11. “This could be everything from some curious citizens, to people who maybe are trying to hack for sport, to people who are trying to collect information.”
He said what concerns the command is what some people call data mining. This is where analysts use computers to shift through enormous quantities of data to glean information. It is the new form of espionage.
“The way I think of it is various organizations are coming in and doing espionage work,” the general said. “You can imagine the downloading of files from personnel agencies or other branches of government.”
In the past, to get that information “you would hire someone to break in with a flashlight in their teeth and go through the drawer and photograph the files,” Chilton said. Now, all this information is stored on discs or on computers. Spies don’t have to leave a computer terminal in their own countries to try to get this information.
China has written openly of cyber warfare, and U.S. officials write in the current “Military Power of the Peoples’ Republic of China” assessment that Chinese officials see cyber warfare as an asymmetric brand of warfare.
“China’s current thinking on asymmetric warfare is encapsulated by a military theory termed ‘non-contact,’ which seeks to attain a political goal by looking for auxiliary means beyond military boundaries or limits,” the publication says. “Examples include: cyber warfare against civilian and military networks – especially against communications and logistics nodes; fifth column attacks, including sabotage and subversion, attacks on financial infrastructure; and, information operations.”
There have been a number of “intrusions” against DoD computers from China, but the United States has not attributed these to any country. “The thing about China that gives us pause is they have written openly about their emphasis in particular areas: space, cyber,” Chilton said.
In the cyber world it is tough to figure out who is attacking. In April 2007, Estonia came under cyber attack. The denial-of-service attack targeted the government, banks, newspapers and other computer dependent businesses. Estonian officials immediately charged Russia with initiating the attacks, but to date, a computer hacker in Estonia has been the only person charged in the attack.
“The kind of attack that you would worry about is the kinds of things we saw in Estonia last year — a denial-of-service attack, where they flood the system with so many e-mail ‘botnets’ you don’t shut the system down, but you slow it down to the point that it’s unusable,” the general said.
STRATCOM and the rest of the military are more aware than ever of intrusions of their networks, reporting on them and taking actions.
“A big step forward for us was unity of effort,” the general said. Joint Task Force Global Network Operations is part of the command tasked with defending the military and classified systems. The task force put in place guidelines and restrictions for the way the services operate in the cyber world. This includes security measures, firewalls and what people shouldn’t be doing, the general said.
“We have a lot of work in front of us in training people in our military, because defense of the network goes from high-end technical solutions to the very low-end, which is making sure the very newest and youngest person on the network understands that their actions can create vulnerability that is significant and teach them what to watch out for and what they should and shouldn’t do,” Chilton said.
All computer defenders must be worried about the whole range of attacks or intrusions, Chilton said.
“You have to be worried about it all — I mean, we can have a bored 16-year-old do damage to our networks,” he noted. “It’s not just a nation-state that you worry about. It can be from any organization like al Qaeda.”
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=49280
Coalition Forces in Iraq Detain Insurgent, Foil Ambush
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 14, 2008 – Coalition troops in Iraq captured a suspected bomb maker and thwarted an insurgent ambush during operations in Baghdad over the past few days, military officials said.
U.S. soldiers detained a suspected improvised explosive device maker March 12 in the Jadida area of the Karadah security district in eastern Baghdad, officials said.
Soldiers with the 10th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team detained the suspected terrorist, who tested positive for explosive materials. Intelligence officials believe the detention of the suspect will result in reduced roadside-bomb attacks on Iraqi and coalition security forces in the area.
U.S. soldiers in Baghdad also foiled an attempted ambush in the northern portion of the city’s Adhamiya district March 11. Soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team were attacked by enemy small-arms fire after they’d entered the area in response to reports of mortar activity.
An air-weapons team identified and engaged the suspected attackers, who were in three vehicles. One suspect was wounded and all three vehicles were disabled during the exchange.
The injured suspect was detained and taken to a coalition outpost for medical treatment. Three other suspects also were detained.
Local Iraqi residents then alerted the U.S. soldiers about a possible enemy munitions cache in the area. Following the tip, the soldiers seized 85 mm rockets, rocket launchers, mortars, a 122 mm projectile and 40 mm grenades.
Also, over the past week in Anbar province, Iraqi police discovered two huge weapons caches that contained rockets, rocket-propelled-grenade launchers, rifles, machine guns, radios, hand grenades, mortars and mortar rounds, small-arms and machine-gun ammunition and more, officials said.
In Fallujah, Iraqi police found a large weapons cache hidden inside a city residence March 11. Numerous hand grenades, small-arms ammunition, rocket-propelled-grenade launchers, rifle scopes, blasting caps and more ordnance were discovered inside a hidden room that had been concealed by a false wall, officials said.
Eight other massive weapons caches were discovered March 7 on a farm located near Rawah, officials said. The Rawah caches included more than 8,800 items that in total weighed more than 2,600 pounds. Much of the buried ordnance was found to be unserviceable.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.