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Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread Thirty-Six

Posted on 04/18/2006 11:09:45 PM PDT by nwctwx

:::FreeRepublic's Threat Matrix:::
Afghanistan Calls for Crackdown at Border
(Full Story)

Pakistan needs to do more to crack down on terrorism along the Pakistani-Afghan border, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday.

Rahim Karimi said in the news conference that Afghanistan need greater "cooperation" from both its eastern neighbor and the international community in its battle against Islamic militants.

Coalition and Afghan forces have in recent days been fighting fierce battles against Taliban fighters near the Afghan-Pakistan border.

Soldiers Kill 5 Militants in Afghanistan
Joseph Farah: Real Bad News in Afghanistan
Karzai Urges Coalition Forces to Show Restraint
Zawahri's New Video Calls Muslims to Support Mujahideen
Thread Thirty-Six
Click for Color Code Information
Threat Matrix HTML designed by: Ian Livingston


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; gwot; iran; islamists; jihad; pakistan; taliban; terror; terrorism; threat; threatmatrix; wot
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
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To: Gucho; Godzilla; backhoe; All

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50401

"National Guard units to be armed, close to border
Chief says rules of engagement allow troops to fire weapons"
Posted: May 27, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern


© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The head of the U.S. National Guard surprised Border Patrol officials, declaring some of the troops he will send to assist them will work in close proximity to the border, be armed and allowed to fire their weapons if necessary.

"Any soldier assigned to a mission where he would be placed in harm or danger, where his life would be threatened potentially, will in fact be armed and will have the inherent right of self-protection," Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum told the San Antonio Express-News Thursday.

Federal troops are scheduled to begin deployment to the four states on the Mexican border next week once the Guard and the Defense Department approve the memorandum of understanding that will define the mission's parameters. The document will also require signatures from the border governors.

Representatives from the National Guard and the offices of the governors of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California have been meeting in Phoenix this week to craft an agreement on the use of force. The talks have focused on "harmonization" of the different states' laws on self-defense and the use of deadly force, said Texas National Guard commander Army Maj. Gen. Charles G. Rodriguez.

The rules of engagement "will be the same in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas," said Blum."


2,741 posted on 05/26/2006 11:00:20 PM PDT by Cindy
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To: Godzilla; nwctwx; All

ON THE NET...

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php

===
===

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1639218/posts


Indonesia earthquake kills nearly 450
AP ^ | 05/27/06

Posted on 05/26/2006 11:45:45 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

Back to Story - Help

"Indonesia earthquake kills nearly 450"

By IRWAN FIRDAUS, Associated Press Writer

6 minutes ago

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A powerful earthquake flattened buildings in central Indonesia early Saturday, killing nearly 450 people, injuring thousands of others and leaving hospitals appealing for help.

The magnitude 6.2 quake struck at 5:54 a.m. near the southwest of the city of Yogyakarta, 250 miles east of the capital, Jakarta, as many people slept, causing death and damage there and in at least two other nearby towns, officials said.

In the chaos that followed the quake, rumors of an impending tsunami sent thousands of people on Java fleeing to higher ground in cars and motorbikes. But Japan's Meteorological Agency said there was no danger of a tsunami.

The quake also triggered heightened activity in nearby Mount Merapi volcano, which has been spewing out clouds of hot ash, gas and lava for several weeks, a scientist said.

The death toll rose steadily through the morning and eight hours after it struck, the Indonesian Red Cross put the death toll at 443. Morgue officials and the privately run el-Shinta radio said at least 393 bodies were lying in nine hospitals in the region.

The Red Cross said more than 2,800 people were injured in the temblor, many from collapsed homes and buildings.

"We expect the number to keep rising," said Arifin Muhadi, head the Indonesian Red Cross' disaster division. "There are many rural areas we have not yet been able to reach."

Regional hospitals put out an appeal for assistance to help with the onslaught of injuries."


2,742 posted on 05/27/2006 12:13:00 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: All

http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/WadeZirkle/2006/05/26/198960.html

"Celebrating those who gave chase to evil"
May 26, 2006
by Wade Zirkle ( bio | archive | contact )


COLUMN SNIPPET: "Since the Global War on Terror was launched four and half years ago, Americans are now only casually reminded of the sacrifices that our new generation of warriors are making in Afghanistan, Iraq and other desperate corners of the world. Usually these reports come in the form of terse, sterile news briefs: a fleeting portrait of a service member flashing across a TV screen or a radio sound-bite at the top of the hour that notes that soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb. When there is an occasional in-depth story, it often focuses on the nature and controversy of the casualty and follows with overtones of grief, sorrow and pity.

Yet, seldom is there a celebration of the life of our fallen warrior.

On this Memorial Day, I hope that our nation can put aside partisanship and political animosities to more fully celebrate the lives of a new, great generation of American warriors; the ordinary citizens who achieved extraordinary achievements and made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.

In September of 2004, nearing the end of a long deployment to Fallujah, the truck in which I was riding with my Marine platoon was hit by a massive suicide bomb. Seven brave American fighting men died instantly in addition to three patriotic Iraqi soldiers. Along with five others, I survived and was evacuated. After a lengthy rehabilitation, I visited with all seven families of my fallen men. My trip took me from Lafayette , Louisiana , to Concord , California , to Washington D.C. , and places in between."


2,743 posted on 05/27/2006 12:30:55 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: JellyJam; backhoe; All

ON THE NET...

http://www.worldpicturenews.com/web/IndexPageLightbox.aspx?driverid=224029


2,744 posted on 05/27/2006 12:47:12 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: JohnathanRGalt; backhoe; All

PROPAGANDA On The Net...


http://albayanat.blogspot.com/

http://press-release.blogspot.com/


2,745 posted on 05/27/2006 1:00:35 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: All

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1639228/posts

"Vandals Caught Through MySpace Profiles"
CBS2CHICAGO ^ | 26 May 2006 | CBS2CHICAGO

Posted on 05/27/2006 12:47:29 AM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist


2,746 posted on 05/27/2006 1:03:36 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: Oorang; penguino; Velveeta; JohnathanRGalt; backhoe; All

ON THE NET...

http://www.ribataliraq.com

http://www.ribataliraq.com/news.php

http://www.ribataliraq.com/news.php?action=view&id=154&2c2ae2ecf776f76f80210458028e5505


2,747 posted on 05/27/2006 1:10:14 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: All

http://michellemalkin.com/archives/005269.htm

"REMEMBER"
By Michelle Malkin · May 26, 2006 10:58 AM


2,748 posted on 05/27/2006 1:33:46 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: nwctwx; Godzilla; Gucho; All
RECAP...

FreeRepublic.com - Keyword: "IRAN" (Read More...)

"www.memri.org/iran.html" (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AP): Ankara, Turkey: "REPORT: MISSILE PARTS, 'DUAL-USE' MATERIALS ILLEGALLY SHIPPED TO IRAN THROUGH TURKEY" (May 26, 2006) (Read More...)

INTELLIGENCE-SUMMIT.blogspot.com (ISN SECURITY WATCH): "RUSSIA CONFIRMS IRAN AIR DEFENSE SALE (May 26, 2006) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "IRAN'S SUICIDE BOMBERS THREATEN TO STRIKE U.S. INTERESTS" (May 26, 2006) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (IranFocus): Tehran - ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The new garrison will be named after Nader Mahdavi, an IRGC naval commander who died in a suicide attack on an American naval vessel in 1987, Samadi said. The report said that more that 55,000 “volunteers for martyrdom-seeking operations” had been registered so far by the organisation, which also calls itself “Estesh’hadioun”, or martyrdom-seekers." (May 24, 2006) (Read More...)
JPOST.com: "IRAN TEST-FIRES LONG-RANGE MISSILE" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Iran conducted a test launch Tuesday night of the Shihab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile, which is capable of reaching Israel and US targets in the region, Israel Radio reported.") (May 23, 2006 22:41/Updated May 24, 2006 1:41) (Read More...)
SEATTLE TIMES.com (AP): Tehran, Iran - "IRAN SEEKS ALLIES IN NUKE FIGHT" (May 18, 2006) (Read More...)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: Vienna, Austria (AP): "U.N. PROBE DETECTS URANIUM IN IRAN" by George Jahn (May 13, 2006) (Read More...)

TOWNHALL.com: "AHMADINEJAD: NUTTIER THAN A SQUIRREL TURD" -Column by Doug Giles (May 13, 2006) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AP): "IRAN'S THUG-IN-CHIEF: ISRAEL A 'TYRANNICAL REGIME THAT WILL ONE DAY BE DESTROYED'" (May 11, 2006) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (IRNA.ir): "IRAN'S THUG-IN-CHIEF: MY LETTER TO BUSH WAS INVITATION TO ISLAM" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: ""If the call is responded positively, there will be no more problems to be solved," added the president. The president said that the letter actually contained a clear message of invitation to human beliefs, adding that its response will determine the future....") (May 11, 2006) (Read More...)
WorldNetDaily.com: "IRAN LETTER PRECURSOR TO WAR?" (May 11, 2006) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "AHMADINEJAD'S LETTER A CALL TO ACCEPT ISLAM?" (May 9, 2006) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "AHMADINEJAD'S LETTER TO BUSH" (May 9, 2006) (Read More...)

NEWSMAX.com: "IRAN PREPARES 'JUDGMENT DAY' ATTACK PLAN" by Kenneth R. Timmerman (May 8, 2006) (Read More...)

MEMRI.org - Special Dispatch Series - No. 1156: "IRANIAN ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF REVEALS IN INTERVIEW PREPARATIONS FOR MILITARY CONFRONTATION WITH U.S.; NEW IRANIAN NUCLEAR MUSIC VIDEOS" (May 4, 2006) (Read More...)


(Note: Regarding IRAN and HEZBOLLAH) (Read More...)

UPI.com: Washington - "HEZBOLLAH MAY ACTIVATE SLEEPER CELLS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The New York Post, quoting sources, said the Lebanon-based fundamentalist Islamic group may be planning to activate sleeper cells in New York or other big cities. The investigation is being carried out by the FBI and the Justice Department. Quoting law-enforcement and intelligence officials, the newspaper said about a dozen hard-core supporters of Hezbollah have been identified in recent weeks as operating in the New York area. The Iranian Mission to the United Nations also is being watched. But U.S. officials also told the newspaper there is no intelligence information pointing to an imminent attack by Hezbollah.") (May 22, 2006) (Read More...) (Note: This url may expire.)
FBI.gov - MOST WANTED TERRORISTS - WANTED POSTER: "IMAD FAYEZ MUGNIYAH" aka "Hajj" (VIEW POSTER; Read More.)

"www.waronline.org/terror/bin%20laden/mugniyah-2.jpg" (VIEW PHOTO. Click Here.)


2,749 posted on 05/27/2006 1:55:12 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: JellyJam; backhoe; All

TRIAL UPDATE...

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=104&pid=0&sid=672025&page=1
AP

"Defense Rests in Sniper Trial"
May 26th - 7:28pm


2,750 posted on 05/27/2006 2:07:30 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: All

http://www.airportbusiness.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=5&id=6657

Updated: May 26th, 2006 12:16 PM EDT
Home > Airline and Airport Security News
"Jockey Jailed For Plane Fire"

The Daily Mail

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Paul Carberry, who won the 1999 Grand National on his father's Bobbyjo, received a two-month jail sentence yesterday for starting a fire on a flight home from Spain last year.

However, Carberry, 32, has appealed against the decision by Judge Patrick Brady in the Swords District Court. He was bailed for 1,000 euros and is free to ride in the meantime.

Carberry was returning to Dublin from a week's holiday with 14 friends last October when the incident occurred on an Aer Lingus flight.

He was sitting next to fellow jockey Davy Condon when he set fire to the latter's Irish Times. Some passengers were alarmed, although the fire was soon extinguished. Carberry maintained it happened accidentally while he was fiddling around with a cigarette lighter."


2,751 posted on 05/27/2006 2:11:07 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: JellyJam; Jet Jaguar; Gucho; copguy; backhoe; All

UPDATE...

http://www.airportbusiness.com/article/article.jsp?id=6609&siteSection=5

Updated: May 24th, 2006 11:38 AM PDT
Home > Airline and Airport Security News
"Florida Clears Air Marshals In Fatal Shooting At MIA"
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel


ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The report issued by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office concluded that the air marshals were justified in shooting Rigoberto Alpizar, who, according to witnesses, mentioned a bomb before running off Orlando, Fla.-bound American Airlines Flight 924, clutching a backpack to his chest.

When the marshals chased Alpizar, 44, off the plane and onto a jetway, he told them he had a bomb and approached them, ignoring their orders to drop to the ground, according to the report.

Even when one of the marshals fired his gun at him, Alpizar kept approaching them, forcing both marshals to shoot and kill him, prosecutors said. According to the report, one marshal fired three times and the other one six times. It was not clear how many bullets hit Alpizar."


2,752 posted on 05/27/2006 2:16:04 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: backhoe; piasa; Godzilla; nwctwx; All

Note: The following text is a quote:
---

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/060526philadelphia.htm

May 26, 2006

ICE investigations net money transmitters in Philadelphia


PHILADELPHIA, PA. -- John Kelleghan, the acting Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Philadelphia, today announced that a local money transmitter pleaded guilty this week to criminal charges of loan fraud, structuring financial transactions, and operating an illegal money transmittal business, while another local money transmitter was sentenced to 30 months incarceration for laundering money that he believed to be drug proceeds.

"Money transmittal businesses that operate underground and outside the law pose significant homeland security threats. As we have seen in the past, these types of businesses can be and have been exploited by criminal organizations and even terrorist groups to move funds virtually anywhere in the world with no questions asked. Closing down this vulnerability is a priority for ICE,” said Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Kelleghan.

On May 24, Seide Venord was sentenced to 30 months in federal incarceration, ordered to make restitution of $25,140, ordered to forfeit $4,660 in cash, and ordered to pay $1,000 in court fines at sentencing before U.S. District Judge John R. Padova, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Venord was convicted by a federal jury in January 2006 on 43 counts for his role in laundering roughly $267,195 in funds that he believed to be drug proceeds through his Philadelphia money transmittal business to the Dominican Republic

Venord was the owner and in-house anti-money laundering compliance officer for Venord Multiple Services, a money transmitting business located at 4922 North 5th Street, in Philadelphia, PA. In this position, Venord was a licensed money transmitter for Western Union, Vigo Remittance, and Girosol Corporation, all money transmittal businesses licensed in the state of Pennsylvania.

Venord conducted financial transactions that were represented to him by a cooperating witness working at the direction of ICE agents to be proceeds of illegal drug trafficking. Venord arranged for the international transfers of money and exchanged blank money orders for cash. Specifically, Venord structured these transactions to evade the federal currency transaction requirements and permitted the use of false identification and fictitious names to prevent discovery of the money sender’s true identity.

Medina Tax & Travel

On May 23, Sheikh Mohammed Khurshan, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Bangladesh, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anita Brody in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmittal business, one count of attempted loan fraud, and one count of structuring financial transactions.

Khurshan was the president and owner of Medina Tax and Travel located at 4302 Market Street in Philadelphia and was the appointed accountant of the Majid Al-Jamia mosque located at 4228 Walnut Street in Philadelphia.

An ICE investigation revealed that Khurshan often structured deposits of cash in $9,000 increments every few days into local Philadelphia banks order to evade the federal $10,000 currency transaction requirements. When the account balance reached $20,000 to $40,000, Khurshan would conduct a large wire transfer depleting the account. Most of the funds were sent to a company in Singapore.

Using these techniques, Khurshan transmitted more than $900,000 overseas, although he was not licensed in the state of Pennsylvania to operate a money transmittal business. Khurshan has stated that he sent funds abroad for a one to three percent commission.

A federal grand jury returned a sealed indictment against Khurshan on May 26, 2005. Khurshan voluntarily surrendered to federal authorities on June 1, 2005.

Khurshan is scheduled to be sentenced in August 2006. He faces a maximum sentence of 40 years incarceration; five years supervised release, a fine of $1.5 million, $400,000 in asset forfeiture, and a $300 special assessment by the court.

USA Patriot Act and money transmittal businesses

For decades, money transmittal businesses (including hawalas) have proven vulnerable to criminal exploitation. The USA Patriot Act of 2001 enhanced ICE's ability to combat the international movement of illicit funds through these businesses by amending the 18 USC 1960 statute. As a result of this law, money service businesses in the United States are required to be registered with the U.S. Treasury Department and be licensed by the appropriate state authorities.

Since the enactment of the USA Patriot Act, ICE agents have used this statute to aggressively target unlicensed money transmittal businesses and underground hawalas nationwide, given the substantial vulnerabilities they pose.

From 2002 through 2005, these investigative efforts by ICE resulted in the arrest of more than 155 individuals and 142 criminal indictments, as well as the seizure of more than $25 million in illicit profits in connection with unlicensed money transmittal businesses.

-- ICE --


2,753 posted on 05/27/2006 2:33:54 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: piasa; backhoe; Godzilla; All

UPDATE...

News Release:

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/060525victoria.htm

May 25, 2006

"Global commodity trading firm convicted in Iraqi Oil-for-Food case
ICE investigation results in guilty plea by Trafigura AG; agreement to pay nearly $20 million"


VICTORIA, TX


2,754 posted on 05/27/2006 2:36:08 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: All

Note: The following text is a quote:
---

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/20060526_5252.html


Coalition, Iraqi Forces Capture Terrorists

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 26, 2006 – Coalition forces and Iraqi security forces detained 21 suspected terrorists across Iraq this week, military officials reported.
Coalition forces in the Anbar region disrupted a gathering and captured six detainees in southern Ramadi today. Coalition forces encountered minimal resistance from the terrorists, quickly neutralized enemy fire and secured the area, officials said. The troops found two AK-47s and associated ammunition at the site of the raid.

Officials said information from recent detainees led to the successful raid, which was part of ongoing, coordinated efforts to eliminate terrorist operations in the Anbar region west of Baghdad.

Elsewhere, soldiers from 6th Iraqi Army Division and Multinational Division Baghdad detained 15 terrorists in three separate events May 23 and May 24.

In one event on May 23, soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, detained two terrorists in connection with a weapons cache found south of Baghdad.

In a second event that same day, soldiers from 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, detained two terrorists attempting to drive through a traffic control point with explosive material in their truck south of Baghdad.

On May 24, another 11 terrorists were detained south of Baghdad when they fired upon a 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, traffic control point from a mosque. The terrorists were found with AK-47 rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)


2,755 posted on 05/27/2006 3:13:23 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: All

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1638584/posts

"The Terrorist Round-up for 5/26/06"
5/26/06

Posted on 05/25/2006 11:16:22 PM PDT by Straight Vermonter


2,756 posted on 05/27/2006 3:17:25 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: Gucho; backhoe; All

Note: The following post is a quote:
---

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1639005/posts


Iraq police hail arrest of leading Sunni militant(Ansar al Islam senior commander )
turkishpress.com ^ | 5/25/2006

Posted on 05/26/2006 2:56:46 PM PDT by Dog

KIRKUK - Iraqi police said they arrested a senior commander of an Al-Qaeda linked militant group near the northern oil centre of Kirkuk Thursday. Abdul Nasser Rahim al-Dulaimi, alias Abu Hanin, is suspected of masterminding attacks on US troops as well as kidnappings of foreigners for the militant group Ansar al-Sunna, police said.

He was detained 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Kirkuk and information about past operations and a large sum in US dollars were found in his possession, said Colonel Shakhwan Abdullah of Kirkuk police.

He said the documents recovered included records of associates across the Sunni heartland of western and north-central Iraq.

The arrest followed the interrogation of three other Ansar militants detained on Wednesday, he added.

05/25/2006 17:45 GMT


2,757 posted on 05/27/2006 3:19:08 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: All

PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org

===
===

Note: The following text is a quote:
---

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06050123.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com


Friday, May 26, 2006

Belarusian pastor: 'Divine freedom is given by God, but state freedom you have to pay for'

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

BELARUS (ANS) -- In what seems to be an increasing trend, a Belarusian Pentecostal pastor has been fined for leading worship without state sanction.
"Divine freedom is given to us by God," Pastor Ilya Radkevich remarked to Geraldine Fagan of Forum 18 News Service, "but state freedom you have to pay for."


Fagan writes that Natalya Lutsenko, head of the administrative commission which fined Pastor Radkevich, totally refused to say why an individual had been punished for holding a peaceful religious service. Radkevich's fine is the latest to be imposed on some Baptist, Pentecostal and independent Orthodox groups, under a legal provision punishing violation of legislation on religion or the foundation and leadership of an unregistered religious congregation.


According to Fagan, the 2002 Religion Law bans unregistered religious activity, thus violating Belarus' international human rights commitments. A regional assistant bishop of a separate registered Pentecostal Union has told Forum 18 that the number of fines for worship by groups in private homes -- which is illegal without state sanction even for registered communities -- would be much greater if such worship did not take place discreetly.


Fagan reports that in what appears to be an increasing trend, the pastor of a Pentecostal community close to the Ukrainian border has confirmed that he was fined in mid-May for leading worship without state sanction.


"Divine freedom is given to us by God," Ilya Radkevich told Fagan from the small south-western town of Povitye [Povits] (Brest region) on 24 May, "but state freedom you have to pay for." He was fined 150,000 Belarusian roubles (438 Norwegian Kroner, 56 Euros or 72 US Dollars).


Natalya Lutsenko, the head of the administrative commission which fined Pastor Radkevich, declined absolutely to explain why an individual had been punished for holding a peaceful religious service. "It is impossible to talk about this case," she told Forum 18 from the town of Kobrin on 26 May. "We don't discuss administrative cases over the phone." Insisting that all religious communities have to register with the authorities before they can function, she put the phone down.


Fagan says Radkevich's fine is the latest to be demanded in recent years from some Baptist, Pentecostal and independent Orthodox groups under Article 193 of the Administrative Violations Code. This is a Soviet-era provision which punishes violation of legislation on religion or the foundation and leadership of an unregistered religious congregation with a fine of up to five times the minimum wage (see most recently F18News 6 January 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=712 and 18 April 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=762). The 2002 Religion Law bans unregistered religious activity, thus violating commitments Belarus has given under international human rights agreements.


Radkevich told Fagan that the local authorities know that his 50-strong congregation gathers for Sunday worship at a purpose-built prayer house in Povitye and have previously fined the congregation sums equivalent to about 50 US Dollars.


"We had to pay in the [Soviet] Union and sometimes after Belarus broke away. We were outlawed in the [Soviet] Union, we're supposed not to be now, but it turns out that way in practice," Radkevich said.


Fagan writes: "On this occasion, however, he said worship had not been interrupted, but that a local police officer had simply come to his home address on 17 May and drawn up a protocol accusing him of violating Article 193, subsequently signed by two more police officers who were never present.


She continues: "Radkevich confirmed that the administrative commission -- rather than a court -- attached to his local district executive committee in Kobrin had imposed the fine on this as on earlier occasions. He added that state scrutiny had lessened during the recent presidential election period, so that this was the first fine he had received in 2006. He also confirmed that he had not yet paid the fine, and would refuse to do so without relevant documentation."


Radkevich told Fagan that his congregation -- which has existed since 1944 -- belongs to the Russia-based Pentecostal Union led by Ivan Fedotov.

Present in a number of ex-Soviet states, its communities have traditionally been opposed to state registration. While the Union is believed to have some 50 congregations in Belarus, Radkevich told Forum 18 that he did not know how many there are due to their lack of legal status.


Based in Kobrin itself, a 300-strong affiliate congregation to the Union has not been fined for unregistered worship recently, its pastor's wife, Tamara Radkovich, told Forum 18 on 24 May. Her husband Nikolai was fined 50,000 Belarusian roubles (156 Norwegian Kroner, 19 Euros or 23 US Dollars) on 11 December 2003 under Article 193 and 25,000 Belarusian roubles (74 Norwegian Kroner, 9 Euros or 11 US Dollars) on 17 October 2005 for not having the correct capacity fire extinguisher at the premises used by the community for worship (see F18News 12 December 2003 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=212 and 25 October 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=676).


Fagan adds: "A regional assistant bishop of the separate, registered Pentecostal Union led by Sergei Khomich has told Forum 18 that the incidence of fines for worship by groups in private homes -- which is illegal without state sanction even for registered communities under the 2002 Religion Law -- would be much more frequent if such worship did not take place discreetly (see F18 News 7 October 2003 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=154). In a leaked recent report, Brest's top regional religious affairs official lamented state officials' failure to prosecute unregistered religious activity (see F18News 18 November 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=691)."


Fagan said that among other congregations recently fined for holding unregistered worship services in private homes are some affiliated with the Baptist Union, including one such congregation, which has sought registration, but was fined in April. The Baptist Union leader Nikolai Sinkovets told her his churches barely pay any attention to all the fines that are now being imposed.


"The first time such fines were handed down we paid attention," he told Forum 18 on 25 May. "Now we're tired of all these fines. It makes no difference if we publicize them or not. They're happening all the time. People only bother to tell me if they are very heavy."


According to Fagan most of the Baptist communities in the Union led by Sinkovets have sought and received registration. However, congregations of the Council of Churches Baptists, who refuse on principle to register with the authorities in post-Soviet countries, have consequently faced routine fines in Belarus, particularly since the adoption of the 2002 Religion Law (see most recently F18NewsF18News 6 January 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=712). They have not reported any recent fines, however.


Fagan writes that in another recent development, the Evangelical Belarus Information Center reported on 19 May that Pentecostal pastor Oksana Gavrilenko was pressured into resigning from her post as a school teacher after complaining about a lecture on the dangers of "sects" (including Baptists and Pentecostals) given to pupils by a local Orthodox priest. Despite complaining about her effective dismissal to Rechitsa [Rechytsa] (Gomel [Homyel'] region) municipal administration in south-east Belarus, she was not reinstated, according to the report, although the Orthodox priest was asked to stop slandering Protestant churches. Gavrilenko found alternative employment after a few weeks.


For more background information see Forum 18's Belarus religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=478

A printer-friendly map of Belarus is available at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=europe&Rootmap=belaru.


© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855. You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to F18News http://www.forum18.org/

Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at http://www.forum18.org/

If you need to contact F18News, please email them at: f18news@editor.forum18.org


Forum 18, Postboks 6603, Rodeløkka, N-0502 Oslo, NORWAY

** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.


2,758 posted on 05/27/2006 3:22:18 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: all4one; All

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5022498.stm

Last Updated: Saturday, 27 May 2006, 01:46 GMT 02:46 UK

"Major new station opens in Berlin"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The biggest railway station in Europe has been inaugurated in Berlin by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
A two-day celebration is being held in the German capital to mark the opening of the 700m euros (£480m) Hauptbahnhof.

The station formally opens on Sunday, just two weeks before Germany hosts the football World Cup.

But the festivities were marred when a knifeman attacked spectators leaving the ceremony, injuring at least 19 people, police said.

"A crazy man ran down the street stabbing people arbitrarily," a policeman at the scene told Reuters news agency.


Standing so close to where the Berlin Wall was, the station represents a bridge that brings the city together
Angela Merkel
German Chancellor

In pictures: Berlin's station

Police said a 17-year-old youth has been arrested in connection with the attacks.

The glass-roofed structure has been built close to where the Berlin Wall once cut through the capital."


2,759 posted on 05/27/2006 3:25:02 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: All

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1639250/posts

"May We NEVER Forget The Reason For Memorial Day..."
News Sarasota ^ | May 27, 2006 | Matt Bruce

Posted on 05/27/2006 3:24:51 AM PDT by Matt Bruce

"May We NEVER Forget The Reason For Memorial Day..."




SNIPPET: "SARASOTA, FL. (NS) -

It is once again time for America to remember the reason WHY we celebrate Memorial Day...

From the current War On Terror, to World War's I & II, along with Vietnam, Korea, Grenada and even the Spanish American and Civil War we honor the memory of all of those who have died serving America in our Armed Forces so that we might now all be free and safe...

It is also way past time to remember the needs of our current Veterans and see to it that they are met without playing politics with honorable men and women's lives...

For those of us who have survived serving in the Military during combat or peace, we take the time to stop and remember those brave young men and women who served right along beside us who are no longer with us..."


2,760 posted on 05/27/2006 3:27:34 AM PDT by Cindy
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