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Locked on 05/01/2007 8:56:34 PM PDT by Admin Moderator, reason:
New thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1826963/posts |
Posted on 04/01/2007 6:46:34 PM PDT by nwctwx
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_2533.html
Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
This information is current as of today, Thu Apr 26 2007 00:45:34 GMT-0700.
UZBEKISTAN
April 25, 2007
This Travel Warning is being issued to remind U.S. citizens that the potential for a terrorist attack or civil disturbance still exists, despite the fact that there have been no violent incidents in Uzbekistan since May 2005. As the May 13 anniversary of the violence in Andijon approaches, the Department of State continues to urge Americans in Uzbekistan to exercise caution. This Travel Warning supersedes the Travel Warning of October 4, 2006.
The Department of State reminds U.S. citizens of the potential for terrorist attacks or civil disturbance in Uzbekistan, although there have been no violent incidents there since May 2005, and continues to urge Americans in Uzbekistan to exercise caution. The U.S. Government continues to receive information that indicates terrorist groups may be planning attacks, possibly against U.S. interests, in Uzbekistan. Supporters of terrorist groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Al-Qaida, the Islamic Jihad Union, and the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement are active in the region. Members of these groups have expressed anti-U.S. sentiments and have attacked U.S. Government interests in the past, including the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, and may attempt to target U.S. Government or private American interests in Uzbekistan. In the past, these groups have conducted kidnappings, assassinations, and suicide bombings.
Increased security at official U.S. facilities over the past year may lead terrorists and their sympathizers to seek softer targets. These may include facilities where Americans and other foreigners congregate or visit, such as residential areas, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels, outdoor recreation events, and resorts. The U.S. Embassy in Tashkent continues to employ heightened security precautions. U.S. citizens should report any unusual activity to local authorities and then inform the Embassy.
The Uzbek Government maintains travel restrictions on large parts of the Surkhandarya province bordering Afghanistan, including the border city of Termez. American citizens intending to travel to this region must obtain a special permission card from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or Uzbek embassies and consulates abroad. Even with permission, however, some American citizens transiting to Afghanistan via Termez have been briefly detained and/or fined for not registering in Uzbekistan. Furthermore, American citizens affiliated with a nongovernmental organization that has been closed down in Uzbekistan may be denied entry, even with a valid visa.
Uzbekistan experienced a wave of terrorist violence in 2004. In July 2004 there were three suicide bombings in Tashkent, including one outside the U.S. Embassy. The Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) claimed responsibility for the attacks. The IJU also used suicide bombers in multiple attacks focused on police and Uzbek private and commercial facilities in Tashkent and Bukhara in late March and early April 2004. In May 2005, armed militants stormed a prison in Andijon, released its prisoners, and then took control of the regional administration and other government buildings in Andijon Province. Fighting broke out between government forces and the militants, and reports indicated that several hundred civilians died in the ensuing violence. While there were no reports of U.S. citizens affected by these events, U.S. citizens and other foreigners in Uzbekistan frequently have experienced harassment from authorities and local residents since the 2005 violence.
Americans traveling to or remaining in Uzbekistan, despite this Travel Warning, are strongly urged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Uzbekistan. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent. The U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan is located at # 3, Moyqorghon Street, 5th Block, Yunusobod District, Tashkent-700093, Uzbekistan. The telephone number is 998-71-120-5450 and can be reached after hours as well. The Consular fax number is 998-71-120-5448. The website is http://uzbekistan.usembassy.gov .
Travelers also should consult the Department of State’s latest Consular Information Sheet for Uzbekistan, the Public Announcement for Central Asia, and the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement at http://travel.state.gov . American citizens may also obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States or Canada, and 202-501-4444 from overseas.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.01592:
###
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55392
“Christians in bull’s-eye in new ‘hate crimes’ plan
Congress working to create penalties for non-PC views”
Posted: April 26, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A fast-tracked congressional plan to add special protections for homosexuals to federal law would turn “thoughts, feelings, and beliefs” into criminal offenses and put Christians in the bull’s-eye, according to opponents.
“H.R. 1592 is a discriminatory measure that criminalizes thoughts, feelings, and beliefs [and] has the potential of interfering with religious liberty and freedom of speech,” according to a white paper submitted by Glen Lavy, of the Alliance Defense Fund.
“As James Jacobs and Kimberly Potter observed in Hate Crimes, Criminal Law, and Identity Politics, ‘It would appear that the only additional purpose [for enhancing punishment of bias crimes] is to provide extra punishment based on the offender’s politically incorrect opinions and viewpoints,’” said Lavy.
The proposal has been endorsed by majority Democrats on the committee, and already has 137 sponsors in the full House, making it possible it could be voted on in a matter of days or weeks.”
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1124787
“Six Convicted in DMV Fraud Scheme”
April 25, 2007 - 1:34pm
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “ALEXANDRIA, Va. - As many as 365 people may have received illegal driver’s licenses as a result of fraud at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, federal prosecutors say.
Six people were convicted in the 2-year investigation, which stemmed from an upgrade in the state’s DMV offices after the Sept. 11 attacks.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The Virginia DMV is encouraging people to report suspected fraud to the DMV Zero Fraud Hotline at 1-877-ZERO-FRAUD.”
NOTE: The following text is a quote:
AL-QAEDA IN IRAQ SECURITY EMIR KILLED
Release Date:
4/25/2007
Release Number:
07-01-03P
Description:
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Coalition Forces positively identified a terrorist killed in an operation April 20 northwest of Baghdad.
Muhammad Abdullah Abbas al-Issawi, also known as Abu Abd al-Sattar and Abu Akram, was a known al-Qaeda terrorist leader known to operate in Karmah and Ameriyah areas and was the al-Qaeda in Iraq Security Emir of the eastern Anbar Province.
Coalition Forces were conducting operations targeting associates of a known senior leader within al-Qaeda in Iraq. During the operation the terrorists engaged ground forces with small arms fire. Coalition Forces used appropriate self-defense measures and engaged the armed men, killing two and detaining one. One of the terrorists killed has been positively identified as Abu Abd al-Sattar.
Coalition Forces recovered assault vests, weapons, hand grenades and suicide vests at the site.
Abu Abd al-Sattar had links to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and was reported to have been in contact with him since late 2004, up to al-Zarqawi’s death.
He was also a weapons supplier to insurgent forces fighting against the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and Coalition Forces, and had links to the recent surge in chlorine VBIED attacks across Iraq.
Intelligence reports also indicate that his VBIED cell used 12- to 13-year-old children as VBIED drivers.
“Abu Abd al-Satter’s death is a serious disruption to al-Qaeda in Iraq’s VBIED network,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.
“This represents one more victory in the war against those that would deny safety and security to the Iraqi people.”
-30-
Adding the DOJ press release to your post no. 1315, Velveeta.
#
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.usdoj.gov/news_070425.html
Leader of U.S. Arm of Sri Lankan Terrorist Group
Arrested for Providing Material Support to Terrorists
April 25, 2007
Arrest is the Latest in Ongoing Investigation of Terrorist Group’s Reliance On
Individuals in the United States as a Major Source for Money, Arms, and Military Technology
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – A complaint was unsealed this morning in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn charging a senior U.S. representative of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, or Tamil Tigers), a designated foreign terrorist organization since 1997, with material support of a foreign terrorist organization. The defendant, KARUNAKARAN KANDASAMY, also known as “KARUNA,” was arrested in Queens, New York, and is scheduled to have his initial appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto at the U.S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York.. The charge in the complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, KARUNA faces a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.
“As alleged in the complaint, for years the LTTE has covertly operated within the United States drawing on America’s financial resources and technological advances to further its war of terror in Sri Lanka and elsewhere,” stated U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf. “We refuse to allow this to continue.” Ms. Mauskopf added that the investigation is continuing.
Mark J. Mershon, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, stated, “Financial backing, assistance with logistics, and other forms of material support have a direct bearing on the viability of a terrorist organization’s lethal objectives. Karuna hasn’t merely supported the Tamil Tigers’ cause, he orchestrated U.S. support. We can no sooner allow terrorists to raise funds here than we would allow them to carry out acts of terrorism here.”
The government’s investigation was conducted by the New York and Newark Divisions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), with assistance provided by more than 20 of the FBI’s Field Offices, including New Haven, CT, Buffalo, NY, Seattle, WA, Baltimore, MD, Chicago, IL, San Jose, CA, and Los Angeles, CA; the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); the U.S. Department of State; and several foreign governments.
The LTTE
According to the complaint, the LTTE was founded in 1976 and relies on terrorism, including suicide bombings and political assassinations, to achieve its objective of establishing an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka. The group’s elite Black Tiger squad has conducted hundreds of suicide attacks and several assassinations, including the May 1991 assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the 1993 assassination of the President of Sri Lanka, Ranasinghe Premadasa. The complaint charges that beginning in 2002, the LTTE and Sri Lankan government operated under a tenuous cease-fire agreement. That agreement has essentially ended, and more than 4,000 people have been killed in the past 15 months in the escalating conflict.
KARUNA’s Material Support
According to the complaint, the LTTE relies on sympathetic Tamil expatriates residing in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and several other countries to raise and launder money; smuggle arms, explosives, equipment, and technology into LTTE-controlled territory; obtain intelligence about the Sri Lankan government; and spread propaganda. To coordinate these activities, the LTTE has established “branches” in at least 12 countries, including the United States.
The complaint alleges that KARUNA is the director of the American branch of the LTTE, which is located in Queens, New York, and operates through a front organization called the World Tamil Coordinating Committee (the “WTCC”). KARUNA oversees and directs the LTTE’s activities in the United States, including fundraising. In the summer and fall of 2004, for example, the LTTE allegedly undertook a major worldwide campaign to raise money for its planned offensive against the Sri Lankan government in late 2005. In support of this planned offensive, KARUNA held fundraising events in November and December 2004 at a church and a public high school in Queens, New York, and a school in South Brunswick, New Jersey. Hundreds attended.
According to the complaint, KARUNA also was responsible for arranging meetings in LTTE-controlled territory in Sri Lanka between LTTE leaders and prominent LTTE supporters from the United States. These supporters typically have backgrounds in engineering, technology, weaponry, medicine, and other scientific fields. KARUNA and his subordinates also assisted LTTE intelligence agents in researching military technology.
Related LTTE Prosecutions in the Eastern District of New York
Eleven defendants were previously indicted in the Eastern District of New York on charges relating to the material support of the LTTE. One indictment, United States v. Sathajhan Sarachandran, et al., charges five individuals with attempting to purchase several dozen surface-to-air missiles and other military arms and equipment from an undercover FBI agent in Queens, New York. The second indictment, United States v.Thavarajah Pratheepan et al., charges the defendants with participating a wide-ranging conspiracy to provide material support to the LTTE through the procurement of military arms and technology, attempting to bribe purported U.S. State Department officials to remove the LTTE from the foreign terrorist organization list and to sell classified intelligence concerning the LTTE, fundraising, and the LTTE’s covert payment of a U.S. Congressman’s trip to LTTE-controlled territory.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey Knox, Robert M. Radick, and Gurbir Grewal.
###
That link on LTTE reminds me of this:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1689230/posts
Congressman’s trip tied to group U.S. considers terrorists
Chicago Tribune ^ | Published August 23, 2006, 10:01 PM CDT | By Andrew Zajac and Mike Dorning
Posted on 08/24/2006 7:24:36 AM PDT by .cnI redruM
WASHINGTON — Chicago congressman Danny Davis and an aide took a trip to Sri Lanka last year that was paid for by the Tamil Tigers, a group that the U.S. government has designated as a terrorist organization for its use of suicide bombers and child soldiers, law enforcement sources said.
Davis’ seven-day trip came under new scrutiny this week following the arrests of 11 supporters of the organization on charges of participating in a broad conspiracy to support the terrorist group through money laundering, arms procurement and bribery of U.S. officials.
The five-term Democratic congressman said he was unaware that the Tigers paid for the trip and on his required congressional disclosure form he reported that the trip was paid for by a Hickory Hills-based Tamil cultural organization, the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/april07/letters042507.htm
“SEEKING YOUR HELP
Who is Behind Threat Letters?”
04/25/07
###
http://seattle.fbi.gov/pressrel/2007/pr042407_attachment.pdf
~
http://seattle.fbi.gov/pressrel/2007/pr042407.htm
FBI PRESS RELEASE
Seattle Field Office
April 24, 2007
“FBI Asks for Public’s Assistance to Identify Sender of Threatening Letters”
Wowser, what a memory you have, piasa.
Thank you for the post.
A few more details UPDATE...
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200704/CUL20070425d.html
“Moderate Muslims Speak Out, But Not on PBS”
By Kevin Mooney
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
April 25, 2007
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “(CNSNews.com) - Islamists are working to build “parallel societies” with the aim of imposing strict Islamic law in parts of the West, according to a documentary the Public Broadcasting System has chosen not to air.
“Islam vs. Islamists: Voices from the Muslim Center” highlights the work of moderate Muslims who oppose the Islamist agenda and are willing to speak out. PBS officials decided against airing the film, which PBS’s Robert MacNeil told the Diane Rehm Show earlier this month was “one-sided” and “alarmist.”
Some of the key Muslim figures featured in the documentary believe PBS is practicing censorship and doing a disservice to the American public. The film, which was supposed to be part of a PBS series, cost taxpayers more than $600,000.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=hezbollah
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=hizballah
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=hizbullah
###
~
http://worldpoliticswatch.com/article.aspx?id=717
“How the Media Partnered With Hezbollah: Harvard’s Cautionary Report”
Frida Ghitis | Bio | 22 Apr 2007
World Politics Watch Exclusive
~
http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP07-012
“The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006: The Media as a Weapon in Asymmetrical Conflict”
By Marvin Kalb
Working Paper Number:RWP07-012
Submitted: 02/28/2007
Posting this here for archival purposes.
#
Note: The following text is a quote:
https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=67287
you are here: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report
Warden Message: U.S. Embassy Athens Closed April 25
Consular Affairs Bulletins
Europe - Greece
25 Apr 2007
Printer Friendly Email Article
Related Reports
10 Apr 2007
Worldwide Caution Public Announcement
26 Jan 2007
Thessaloniki Protests January 24
12 Jan 2007
Warden Message: U.S. Embassy Athens Attacked
12 Jan 2007
U.S. Embassy Athens Attacked
10 Jan 2007
Thessaloniki Protests January 10
U.S. Embassy Athens released the following Warden Message on April 25:
The U.S. Embassy in Athens is closed today, April 25, because of a specific threat directed at the Embassy building. In cooperation with the Greek authorities, further information will be posted on the Embassy website as it becomes available.
Contact information for the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Greece:
The U.S. Embassy in Athens is located at 91 Vas. Sophias, Athens, Greece
101 60. American Citizens Services: 210-720-2415, 210-720-2418, 210-7202-419 or 210-720-2420, fax. 210-725-3025 or Embassy Tel. 210-721-2951. The Internet address is http://www.usembassy.
The U.S. Consulate General in Thessaloniki is located at 42 Tsimiski Street, 7th Floor 54623 Thessaloniki. American Citizens Services Section, 2310-242-905/6/7 ext. 3104. The internet address is http://www.usconsulate.gr
In case of an emergency when the Embassy or Consulate General is closed, an American in Greece can call 210-729-4444, and ask to speak to a consular officer concerning that emergency.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6593335.stm
Last Updated: Wednesday, 25 April 2007, 16:53 GMT 17:53 UK
“Tamil Tiger satellite signals hit”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka can no longer broadcast directly to Europe and Asia after their television signals were taken off a satellite.
Satellite operator Intelsat blocked rebel broadcasts at the weekend.
The company has said the transmissions were “unauthorised” and it “does not tolerate terrorists or others operating illegally on its satellites”.”
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/Open_Federal_Cases/index.asp
“FSIS RECALLS
Open Federal Cases”
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Thu Apr 26 2007 03:52:42 GMT-0700.
Worldwide Caution
April 10, 2007
PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
placemark
What a great young man!
5 unidentified men...Updates appreciated Jellyjam if possible.
THANK YOU.
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