Posted on 06/19/2007 4:43:36 PM PDT by DAVEY CROCKETT
Saudi King Says Middle East Crisis Will Affect The World
DUBAI, June 19 (Bernama) -- The Saudi king has warned of an impending "explosion" in the Middle East, saying that it will not only affect the region but will spread all over the world, the English daily Gulf News reports.
"The Middle East region suffers from the longest conflict in our contemporary history which is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Israel's occupation of Arab lands," King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, said in an interview with the Spanish El Pas newspaper which was published simultaneously in Al Riyadh newspaper yesterday.
"At this point in time we are exerting efforts to solve this conflict, but we are witnessing an expansion of the crisis to include other countries like Iraq and Lebanon," he said.
"This makes the region replete with troubles that pose grave concerns for us. My fears are the fears of all reasonable men that the explosive situation will not be confined to the region but will extend to the whole world," he added.
The Saudi monarch yesterday began a five-nation trip that will take him to Spain, France, Poland, Egypt and Jordan.
King Abdullah also underlined the importance of solving the problem of Iran's nuclear programme peacefully in a way that guarantees all countries in the region to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in accordance with the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=268361
(Excerpt) Read more at bernama.com ...
I am not typing with ease tonight, so posted a bunch of posts to all, none pinged...almost.
‘The visit would also help clear many things and misunderstandings about my remarks about the knighting of Salman Rushdie by Britain,’ the minister said.
The minister - who is the son of Pakistan’s former military ruler Zia-ul-Haq - said that the itinerary of his visit has not yet been finalised.
Correspondents say that Mr Haq met a delegation from Britain on Monday to discuss ways in which the UK could establish better contacts with the Islamic world and combat extremism.
‘We are committed to curbing terrorism and extremism in society but the Western world should also play its due role to eradicate these problems,’ Mr Haq said.
‘Blasphemous’
Earlier this week, the British High Commissioner in Pakistan, Robert Brinkley, expressed ‘deep concern’ over Mr Haq’s comments about suicide attacks.
From post #196
Now consider this from (”The minister - who is the son of Pakistan’s former military ruler Zia-ul-Haq”) his father
Zia-Ul-Haq (1924-88), the former President of Pakistan and Pakistani Army Chief of Staff, opens the book by focusing on the concept of jihad within Islam and explaining it is not simply the domain of the military:
Jehad fi sabilallah is not the exclusive domain of the professional soldier, nor is it restricted to the application of military force alone.
This book brings out with simplicity, clarity and precision the Quranic philosophy on the application of military force within the context of the totality that is JEHAD. The professional soldier in a Muslim army, pursuing the goals of a Muslim state, cannot become ‘professional’ if in all his activities he does not take the ‘colour of Allah,’ The nonmilitary citizen of a Muslin state must, likewise, be aware of the kind of soldier that his country must produce and the only pattern of war that his country’s armed forces may wage.14
General Zia states that all Muslims play a role in jihad, a mainstream concept of the Quran, that jihad in terms of warfare is a collective responsibility of the Muslim ummah, and is not restricted to soldiers. General Zia emphasizes how the concept of Islamic military professionalism requires “godly character” in order to be fully achieved. Zia then endorses Malik’s thesis as the “only pattern of war,” or approach to war that an Islamic state may wage.
from “The Quaranic Concept of War”...here...
http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/06winter/win-ess.htm
Britons hurt in Yemeni shooting
Two Britons have been seriously injured after a security guard opened fire on a group of employees of an international oil company in Yemen.
The incident took place at the Occidental Petroleum Corp in the Shabwa province, about 500km (300 miles) south of the capital, Sanaa.
An Indian man was killed and an American, a Tunisian and a Yemeni man were also hurt, officials said.
The guard, named as Jamil Mohammed al-Raai, was arrested at the scene.
He is reported to have psychological problems.
A Foreign Office spokesman said the two Britons were receiving medical treatment but the seriousness of their injuries was not yet clear.
“It appears to have been a dispute centred around an aircraft being used by an oil company,” he added.
Embassy confirmation
A security official in Yemen said the group was leaving a plane at the oil company’s airstrip when the guard opened fire.
The wounded, who have not been named, were taken to hospital in the capital.
The US Embassy in Sanaa confirmed in a message on its website that an American had been “critically injured” in the incident.
Occidental Petroleum Corp is a California-based international company with oil and gas operations in three core areas - the United States, Latin America and the Middle East, including Yemen.
The country is an independent oil producer and pumps about 450,000 barrels per day.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6233272.stm
Published: 2007/06/23 18:37:46 GMT
© BBC MMVII
[note: the meaning of the number “4”]
Symbols to fear in Gaza
By Paul Adams
BBC News, West Bank
The latest violent upheaval in Gaza has left the Palestinians with little chance of an easy reconciliation.
“The Palestinians must remain united,” Abu Amjad said. But his haunted face told a different story.
The car which brought him to our rendezvous in Ramallah bore the conspicuous emblems of Fatah. A black and white chequered scarf hanging from the rear-view mirror. A yellow flag flying from the aerial.
Such overt displays are fine in a town where Fatah rules the roost, but Abu Amjad is still scared. He agreed to be interviewed only if we disguised his name, face and voice.
Anything but yellow
He had fled Gaza with his wife and children two days earlier. At the height of the fighting, he had heard Hamas militants issuing chilling orders on their walkie-talkies and seen dead bodies in the street.
His children were scared, and started to speak only in whispers. When they asked for toys or sweets, they demanded anything but yellow. In Gaza, everyone, even the smallest child, knows that a simple colour can get you in trouble.
When Abu Amjad saw a group of gunmen on his own roof and realised he was being followed, he decided it was time to leave. His brother, a prominent Fatah official, is still in Gaza. Hence Abu Amjad’s reluctance to be identified.
Unlucky number
One small detail confused me. He said Hamas gunmen had checked ID numbers before deciding what to do with people. Anyone whose number began with a four was suspect.
Move aside, the newcomers seemed to say - we’re in charge now, leave it to us
Why? Because that is how Israel, which granted the permits, signified any Palestinian who returned from abroad after the Oslo peace accords in 1993. And the largest number of these belonged to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction.
Here, in this innocent little digit, was one clue as to why the Palestinian struggle had turned in on itself. Why it had become a kind of revenge tragedy, in which bloody events unfold against the backdrop of a social and political order in tatters.
In 1994, when Yasser Arafat returned in triumph to the Gaza Strip after decades in exile, the PLO, with Fatah at its head, was on the road to national redemption. But as they returned, Arafat’s men appeared to forget that there were other Palestinians already in the Palestinian territory.
Desire for revenge
Men and women who had already fought their own first intifada paid a heavy sacrifice in blood, and forced Israel to take them seriously. Move aside, the newcomers seemed to say. We are in charge now. Leave it to us.
For Gazans and West Bankers - secular and religious activists alike - this was galling. When the newcomers began to flaunt their new-found wealth, building ostentatious villas in one of the poorest places on earth, disillusion quickly set in.
And there was brutality too. Hamas activists were hounded, arrested, beaten and humiliated.
A bitter desire for revenge began to fester.
And imagine how much keener that desire became after Hamas won a democratic election in January 2006, only to see that Fatah’s disdain persisted.
Hamas had not really expected to find themselves suddenly in power. They wanted, rather, to be regarded as a legitimate part of the Palestinian movement.
But Fatah assumed that in time, its rivals would be crushed. Israel, through air strikes and mass arrests, worked hard to achieve this.
‘No plan to rule’
The international community shunned Hamas because of its association with terrorism, despite being advised by many on the ground that constructive engagement might be a more profitable course of action.
Hamas supporters, not surprisingly, became convinced that they were the targets of an international conspiracy designed to destroy them.
For now, the desire for retribution is too strong and will, I fear, only make things worse
You will hear wildly conflicting accounts of who started what in Gaza, but none of this really matters now. What does matter is that Hamas won and, in the process, trashed all those vulgar villas and everything else that spoke of Fatah’s misrule.
But just as Hamas was startled by its victory at the ballot box, now it seems its gunmen are equally surprised at how easy it was to win the military battle.
A friend of mine in Gaza, welcoming the fact that the streets are now safer than they have been for two years, told me Hamas is in a quandary. They simply have no plan to rule, he told me. They do not even want to rule.
Opposite directions
But if Hamas is waiting for Fatah to come back, cap in hand, suing for peace, then it is going to be disappointed. On Tuesday, Fatah’s central committee cut off all contacts with Hamas.
For now, the desire for retribution is too strong and will, I fear, only make things worse.
While in Ramallah, I visited the house of a prominent Hamas politician, Abdel Aziz Dweik, fire-bombed at the dead of night. There was no-one inside. Mr Dweik has been languishing in an Israeli jail for the past year. But the shattered glass and soot-stained walls looked ugly enough.
“Reconciliation? After all this? No,” said Abu Amjad. “Because no-one can forget the blood, especially when it has been shed by your own brothers. We are one people, but right now we are sailing in two ships, in opposite directions.”
From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 23 June, 2007 at 1130 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.
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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6230756.stm
Published: 2007/06/23 11:09:11 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Iraqi tactics come to Afghanistan
By Damian Grammaticas
BBC News, Khost, Afghanistan
The call is a red alert, and American medics scramble to meet an incoming helicopter.
It is ferrying the latest casualty from Afghanistan’s vicious, changing war.
He is stretchered straight into the field hospital in forward base Salerno at Khost close to the border with Pakistan.
His name is Staff Sgt Ken Wininger, and the bones in his foot have just been shattered by a roadside bomb.
“A big old flash of black came across the windshield,” he says, describing the moment his vehicle was hit.
“I crawled out of the truck, my gunner and my driver were yelling that they were okay, and I yelled that I was okay. But my foot hurt. I noticed the front wheel of the Humvee was lying about a hundred metres away.”
Propaganda bombs
The doctors treating Staff Sgt Wininger say his war is over. It will take months of operations and therapy to repair his foot. He will never sprint again and never be able to carry heavy weights.
A Taleban propaganda film shows attacks like the one that destroyed Ken Wininger’s vehicle.
A Humvee is seen driving down a remote road. There is a huge blast. The gunner in the turret is thrown up into the air and the seven-tonne vehicle topples over backwards.
The Taleban appear to be copying tactics from Iraq - becoming more deadly.
In the propaganda film masked men prepare a homemade bomb the size of a football. It is crude, but lethal - powerful enough to blow apart an armoured vehicle.
Instead of confronting America’s firepower head on, the Taleban are attacking more exposed targets, like unarmoured vehicles belonging to the Afghan army, police stations, government buildings.
While we were patrolling with the Americans a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the police checkpost on the river crossing right next to the city of Khost.
The blast left a crater in the tarmac, shrapnel marks across the face of the building and the smouldering wreckage of two cars caught in the explosion.
A couple of policemen were injured, one lorry driver was killed.
Explosive vest
Increasingly this is the way the Taleban are fighting their war. They cannot gather in large formations because they will be decimated by Nato’s modern war-fighting armies. So the Taleban are waging a guerrilla campaign.
The police in Khost showed us a suicide vest they had captured a few days ago.
It was wired and ready for use, packed with 30kg of explosives.
The bomber had been recruited in the madrassas of Pakistan and sent across the border on his suicide mission.
Most of the Taleban’s suicide bombers are teenage boys. Rafiq is just 14 years old.
“We were told Afghanistan is full of infidels,” he says. “They said if we become martyrs we go straight to heaven, and there we have anything we want.”
But there is no paradise for Rafiq, just embarrassment, as he stands awkwardly posing for pictures with his intended target, Khost Governor Arsala Jamal, who has escaped three suicide attacks.
“I feel sorry for him,” says the governor. “In Khost, for sure, the Taleban don’t have the support of the masses. They don’t have the ability to fight with our security forces face-to-face. That’s why they are going for these extreme tactics.”
Teenage bombers and homemade explosives may not be enough to win the Taleban this war, but they are effective and hard to combat.
The Americans have lost 50 men in Afghanistan so far this year. Every new casualty bleeds a little more strength from the coalition.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6222574.stm
Published: 2007/06/21 08:49:47 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Afghans ‘visit India sperm banks’
By Sunil Raman
BBC News, Delhi
Doctors in India’s oldest semen bank say that a growing number of couples from Afghanistan are visiting the country to look for donor sperm.
Unable to conceive, these couples look to Indian semen banks for help as India is the only country in South Asia where the banks are located.
Afghan couples tend to prefer sperm donated from Kashmir as they come from a similar ethnic stock.
India has 10 sperm banks in a country where the population is over a billion.
‘Hormonal disturbances’
Infertility is a sensitive issue in this part of the world and there is a stigma attached to those who cannot conceive.
Dr Iqbal Mehdi, who runs India’s oldest semen bank, Cryogene in Delhi, told the BBC that at least 25 Afghan couples have recently sought his help.
“Sometimes a woman wanting to have a baby from Afghanistan will first come to look for medical help.
AFGHANISTAN’S FUTURE
This week, BBC News is taking an in-depth look at the challenges facing Afghanistan’s people and the peacekeepers.
Stories include: the state of the Taleban; corruption; the drugs problem; and attacks on schools.
“If she is cleared and the problem is with her husband’s low sperm count or no sperm count, they opt for Indian donors,” Dr Mehdi said.
“It is very difficult to get donors. But we have a few semen samples of Kashmiris, and Afghans prefer those donors as their racial characteristics are similar.”
A Persian-speaking gynaecologist, Helai Gupta, has been treating Afghan couples for infertility for the last eight years.
Dr Gupta said the number of Afghan couples seeking donor sperm has increased since the end of Taleban rule.
“From all the Afghan couples who have visited me, it is the men who were either infertile or had erectile dysfunction.
“These men are surprised when after tests I inform them that it is they and not their wives who have a problem,” she said.
Voluntary donors
She said decades of war and exposure to stress leads to hormonal disturbances that can lead to fertility problems.
Dr Gupta said that her education in Kabul and her knowledge of Persian have helped her to interact with these patients.
“They are comfortable with their anonymity here and that is what brings them to us,” she said.
Close proximity to India has seen couples from Pakistan and Uzbekistan also visit the clinics.
Requests to set up similar banks have come in from Israel, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Dr Mehdi says semen samples are collected from different parts of India, supplied by healthy student donors with no medical problems.
He said a lot of time is spent convincing healthy individuals to become voluntary donors.
Doctors have to give each donation a detailed medical screening. Blood samples are tested over four months to rule out HIV and hepatitis infections.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6227540.stm
Published: 2007/06/21 15:15:26 GMT
© BBC MMVII
http://worldanalysis.net/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=3467735022acca11adf6565dd1311f50&topic=117.0
An important message Islam Army on Sister Sajeda Alerishawi & Alan Johnson
on: May 18, 2007, 09:31:31 PM
[translation and original]
also on this page:
Hamas ‘threatened Johnston’s captors’
Al-Qaeda group which kidnapped BBC reporter says it has been threatened by Hamas
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3413990,00.html
“We conducted a meeting with Abu Ubayda, spokesman for Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades. He threatened us, saying that if the journalist Alan Johnson isn’t released immediately, undesired consequences would result.”
Hamas also threatened to encircle Tahwid al-Jihad, lay a siege to the group, and to eliminate it from the Gaza strip, if Johnston was not released.
http://worldanalysis.net/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=3467735022acca11adf6565dd1311f50&topic=118.0
al Qaeda misc.
on: May 25, 2007, 05:06:59 PM
The brother from Al-Qaeda now overtook in Al Baltouk says that the organization includes Morocco Algeria is Tunisia and .
The brother from Al-Qaeda now overtook in Al Baltouk (PalTalk) says that the organization includes Morocco Algeria is Tunisia Mali is Andalusia Niger Mourtania ....And he says that the formation of a strong base will take place first before the invasion of Spain that restored now
Also he says that the organization does not recognize Sykes-Picot borders
Also on this page:
The Al-Qaeda threats force hundreds of Mosul police into offering their resignations
Mosul ( Iraq ) - the service of Quds Press
He offered hundreds of Al-Beaaj District police elements, in City of Mosul in north of Iraq, their resignations from the work after their receiving threats of the killing from the Al-Qaeda network, represented while is known the Islamic country of Iraq .
And a security source in the city explained, that more than 500 elements of police elements left the work for fear of threats they received it from members what names “ the Islamic country of Iraq “, adding that it did not remain “ because of the threats this now in the justice except 15 policemen are empty the protection of police chief in the justice and now the police station, and have handed over their weapons “, pointing out that “ the armed groups killed many of the policemen in the last week without turning to them, because the justice the terrorist groups controls it one of “, according to its saying .
And the source said “ these resignations have left a big security vacuum on the region and the most border points that links with the Syrian borders now a desolate, it crosses from them the highwaymen and the terrorists with freedom “ .
And this is not the first time that forces in it the Al-Qaeda’s threats of elements the Iraqi police on leaving their jobs, several cities in Al Anbar governorate and Salah Ad-Din has witnessed similar cases in the past .
http://worldanalysis.net/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=3467735022acca11adf6565dd1311f50&topic=132.0
The Army of Islam : :letter from the Army of Islam to the Qassam Brigades
on: June 19, 2007, 10:19:50 PM
The Army of Islam : : visual message entitled : letter from the Army of Islam to the Qassam Brigades
Links and translation follow.
http://worldanalysis.net/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=3467735022acca11adf6565dd1311f50&topic=123.0
Topic: Rakan ben Williams - 05.13.2007 Strikes in the backyard next America (Read 17 times)
Casey
Administrator
Sr. Member
*****
Posts: 261
WWW
Rakan ben Williams - 05.13.2007 Strikes in the backyard next America
on: June 03, 2007, 09:00:45 AM
Strikes in the backyard next America ... when and how? (Say ... will perhaps be soon) (seriously!)
The full threat is here, as are the links to read the nuclear book he talks of.
I can’t see it tonight, but did check on of them, it is easy enough to read.
This is the May 13th, Ben Raken letter, I thought he was in jail in England?
Religious Affairs Minister Ijaz-ul Haq said his visit may happen next month.
He said that extremists could justify suicide attacks because the knighthood insulted the Prophet Muhammad.
An official in the British embassy in Islamabad said that the minister was a regular visitor to Britain, and no steps would be taken to stop him.
‘Misunderstandings’
A British Foreign Office spokesman in London said that no invitation had been issued on its behalf to Mr Huq, and there were no plans to invite him.<<<
At the top of 196, add this to what you posted and it spells real trouble I would think.
I have little faith in who supports jihad and who does not.
I listened to one thursday night on the radio, you might still be able to hear him, he was on the Gunny Bob program, at:
850koa.com.
Bob was believing him, I did not, if he had been one of my kids, I would have said to him “try telling the truth”.
From your post:
General Zia states that all Muslims play a role in jihad, a mainstream concept of the Quran, that jihad in terms of warfare is a collective responsibility of the Muslim ummah, and is not restricted to soldiers.<<<
This is what I keep finding to be true.
Almost every muslim news site, has a threat and some are very upset over the honor paid to Rushdie.
http://worldanalysis.net/smf/index.php?topic=134.0
Taliban / Shura statement on the title of the Salman Rushdie 21/6/2007
on: June 22, 2007, 04:50:52 AM
This link is to a translation of the threat.
http://noiri.blogspot.com/2007/06/video-senator-kennedys-spanish-lullaby.html
Your report on the California dog that can vote, is not a surprise.
In the last Presidential election, several Freepers told me that it was not that easy to vote, so I went with my ID in hand and they refused to even look at it.
Now, new law in Arizona, must have proof that you live here, such as your utility bills for 2 months.
We need new laws.
Alan’s blog is looking good.
NEO-NAZIS ATTACK PREGNANT WOMAN.
In Moscow, a group of neo-Nazis attacked a pregnant woman from the
Caucasus, according to a June 19 report by the Sova
Information-Analytical Center. The beating took place near Rechnoy
train
station in front of witnesses who watched without interfering or
calling
the police. Eventually a young woman walked by and contacted two male
friends to chase off the neo-Nazis. They called an ambulance that took
the victim away. Her medical status is unknown and no one has so far
reported the incident to the police.
Volume 7, Number 23
Friday, June 22, 2007
BIGOTRY MONITOR
A Weekly Human Rights Newsletter on Antisemitism, Xenophobia, and
Religious Persecution in the Former Communist World and Western Europe
EDITOR: CHARLES FENYVESI
Published by UCSJ: Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet
Union
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/
Security service moves to defend Russian interests abroad
MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti) - The National Antiterrorism Committee
(NAC) has proposed creating a crisis-response center to prevent
terrorist attacks against Russian nationals and facilities abroad, the
head of the Russian security service said Friday.
“The center will ensure a prompt and effective response to terrorist
threats against Russian installations, agencies or nationals outside
the
Russian Federation,” said Nikolai Patrushev, who is also NAC chairman.
He said the proposal will be considered at an upcoming session of the
Federal Operations Headquarters in July.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) chief also said an international
antiterrorism center could be created in the Caucasus.
“We will continue to work along these lines,” he said.
He said 72 organizations involved in financing terrorist activities
were
closed down in Russia in 2006.
“We probed last year over 1,000 organizations and 3,000 individuals in
a
search for financial sources of terrorism,” Nikolai Patrushev said,
adding that over 50 criminal cases were launched as a result of the
probe and 17 extremist organizations banned.
He said Russian security services had foiled terrorist attacks during a
G8 summit in St. Petersburg in 2006, and the Russia-EU summit in Sochi
earlier this year.
“Preventive measures helped deter [Chechen] warlords’ plans to carry
out
terrorist acts and damage Russia’s reputation on the international
stage,” Patrushev said.
He said 546 militants had surrendered since an amnesty was declared in
the North Caucasus last July, adding that a new amnesty could be
granted
to Chechen militants who lay down their arms.
Patrushev said 30 terrorist attacks in southern Russia have been foiled
so far this year.
Deputy Prosecutor General Ivan Sydoruk said Thursday police had
disarmed
148 members of illegal armed groups, and killed 39 militants since the
start of the year. However, he said the situation in the North Caucasus
remains difficult, with heavy casualties among law enforcers.
Since the start of the year, “45 law enforcement officers have been
killed and another 55 policemen wounded in Chechnya and Dagestan,” the
official said.
Sydoruk said 11 extremist crimes have been reported in the Southern
Federal District since the beginning of January, 20% more than in the
same period of last year.
The Astrakhan Region, the Krasnodar, and Stavropol territories reported
the most disturbing results, he said.
Patrushev’s remarks about “preventive measures to deter terrorist acts”
which have the purpose to “damage Russia’s reputation” display the
usual
cynicism - as if the reputation of Patrushev’s guys isn’t damaged
enough
by the strong evidence of their own involvement in all major terrorist
acts connected with the Russian-Chechen war. But this is also another
case of Newspeak which needs a translation. A “crisis-response center
to
prevent terrorist attacks against Russian nationals and facilities
abroad” means that the KGB/FSB is now ready to take *proactive*
measures
against everyone and everything on foreign ground labeled “terrorist”,
i.e. harming the regime’s “interests”. This is directed against human
rights organizations and the pro-Chechen scene. Furthermore, since
everything these people say is twisted by 180 degrees, it also means
that the KGB/FSB is now *officially* ready to commit terrorist acts
abroad for propagandistic purposes. The Chechen diaspora needs to be
extremely vigilant. [this part is the posters comment]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/
Axisglobe: Putin’s KGB colleague to head arms dealing company
News from the KGB Family....
20.06.2007
Eurasian Secret Services Daily Review
AIA
Putin’s KGB colleague to head arms dealing company
President Vladimir Putin is about to approve a reform of Russia’s state
arms exporter in a move regarded as a political victory for weapons
export chief Sergei Chemezov, Kommersant reported. Chemezov was quoted
in the daily as saying Putin would sign an order launching the reform
within days and legislation would be passed by the end of the year.
Kommersant said Putin would ask Chemezov to head a new state
corporation, called Russian Technologies, into which the current assets
of arms exporter Rosoboronexport would be absorbed. Investors are
watching for any indications of who is gaining influence inside the
Kremlin before Putin steps down in 2008. Chemezov, 54, a former KGB
colleague of Putin’s, has been identified by Russian media as a member
of the Kremlin inner circle with direct access to the president. He has
even been tipped as a possible successor. A Kremlin spokesman could not
be reached for comment. First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov,
regarded as a possible candidate to succeed Putin, could be appointed
head of the corporation’s supervisory council, Chemezov said.
Rosobonexport owns stakes in VSMPO-Avisma , the world’s largest
titanium
producer, and AvtoVaz , Russia’s biggest car manufacturer, and
RusSpetsStal, which supplies steel to the aerospace and military
sectors. The weapons sector is dominated by former security officials
who form a key part of Putin’s power base.
http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1331
http://sessions.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=275456
Press Release of Senator Sessions
Sen. Sessions Releases List of 20 Loopholes in the Senate Immigration Bill
Monday, June 4, 2007
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) released a list of 20 loopholes in the comprehensive immigration bill today which reveals that the bill is fatally flawed and will not establish a functioning immigration system in the future.
The list of loopholes includes flaws effecting border security, chain-migration and assimilation policies. The list exposes the lack of serious attention given to ensuring that the legislation fixes America’s failed immigration system.
“I am deeply concerned about the numerous loopholes we have found in this legislation. They are more than technical errors, but rather symptoms of a fundamentally flawed piece of legislation that stands no chance of actually fixing our broken immigration system,” Sessions said. “Many of the loopholes are indicative of a desire not to have the system work.”
For example, one loophole in the “enforcement trigger” fails to require the U.S. VISIT system – the biometric border check-in/check-out system established by Congress in 1996, but never implemented – to be fully functioning before new worker or amnesty programs begin. Without the system in place, the U.S. has no method of ensuring that workers and their families do not overstay their visas.
Another flaw in the legislation prevents the benefits of merit-based immigration from taking full effect until 2016. Until then, chain migration into the U.S. will actually triple, compared to a disproportionately low increase in skill-based immigration. As a result, the merit-based system in the bill is only a shell of what it should have been.
A third loophole in the bill allows immigrants to avoid demonstrating a proficiency in English for more than a decade. Illegal aliens are not required to learn English to receive full “probationary benefits” of citizenship. Passing a basic English test is only required for the third Z-visa renewal, twelve years after amnesty is granted.
Sessions will highlight many of the loopholes contained in the list this week during Senate debate on the immigration bill.
A full list of the 20 loopholes is attached.
20 Loopholes in the Senate Immigration Bill
* Loophole 1 – Legal Status Before Enforcement:
Amnesty benefits do not wait for the “enforcement trigger.” After filing an application and waiting 24 hours, illegal aliens will receive full “probationary benefits,” complete with the ability to legally live and work in the U.S., travel outside of the U.S. and return, and their own social security card. Astonishingly, if the trigger is never met and amnesty applications are therefore never “approved,” the probationary benefits granted to the illegal alien population never expire, and the new social security cards issued to the illegal alien population are not revoked. [See pp. 1, 290-291, & 315].
* Loophole 2 – U.S. VISIT Exit Not In Trigger:
The “enforcement trigger,” required to be met before the new temporary worker program begins, does not require that the exit portion of U.S. VISIT system – the biometric border check-in/check-out system first required by Congress in 1996 that is already well past its already postponed 2005 implementation due date – to be in place before new worker or amnesty programs begin. Without the U.S. VISIT exit portion, the U.S. has no method to ensure that workers (or their visiting families) do not overstay their visas. Our current illegal population contains 4 to 5.5 million visa overstays, therefore, we know that the U.S. VISIT exit component is key to a successful new temporary worker program. [See pp. 1-2].
* Loophole 3 – Trigger Requires No More Agents, Beds, or Fencing Than Current Law:
The “enforcement trigger” does not require the Department of Homeland Security to have detention space sufficient to end “catch and release” at the border and in the interior. Even after the adoption of amendment 1172, the trigger merely requires the addition of 4,000 detention beds, bringing DHS to a 31,500 bed capacity. This is far short of the 43,000 beds required under current law to be in place by the end of 2007, or the additional 20,000 beds required later in the bill. Additionally, the bill establishes a “catch, pay, and release” program. This policy will benefit illegal aliens from countries other than Mexico that are caught at the border, then can post a $5,000 bond, be released and never show up for deportation hearings. Annual failure to appear rates for 2005 and 2006, caused in part by lack of detention space, doubled the 2004 rate (106,000 – 110,000 compared with 54,000). Claims that the bill “expands fencing” are inaccurate. The bill only requires 370 miles of fencing to be completed, while current law already mandates that more than 700 miles be constructed [See pp. 1-2, & 10-11, and EOIR’s FY2006 Statistical Yearbook, p. H2, and The Secure Fence Act of 2004].
* Loophole 4 — Three Additional Years Worth of Illegal Aliens Granted Status, Treated Preferentially To Legal Filers:
Aliens who broke into the country illegally a mere 5 months ago, are treated better than foreign nationals who legally applied to come to the U.S. more than two years ago. Aliens who can prove they were illegally in the U.S. on January 1, 2007, are immediately eligible to apply from inside the U.S. for amnesty benefits, while foreign nationals that filed applications to come to the U.S. after May 1, 2005 must start the application process over again from their home countries. Last year’s bill required illegal aliens to have been here before January 7, 2004 to qualify for permanent legal status. [See pp. 263, 282, & 306].
* Loophole 5 – Completion of Background Checks Not Required For Probationary Legal Status:
Legal status must be granted to illegal aliens 24 hours after they file an application, even if the aliens have not yet “passed all appropriate background checks.” (Last year’s bill gave DHS 90 days to check an alien’s background before any status was granted). No legal status should be given to any illegal alien until all appropriate background checks are complete. [See pp. 290].
* Loophole 6 – Some Child Molesters Are Still Eligible:
Some aggravated felons – those who have sexually abused a minor – are eligible for amnesty. A child molester who committed the crime before the bill is enacted is not barred from getting amnesty if their conviction document omitted the age of the victim. The bill corrects this loophole for future child molesters, but does not close the loophole for current or past convictions. [See p. 47: 30-33, & p. 48: 1-2]
* Loophole 7 – Terrorism Connections Allowed, Good Moral Character Not Required:
Illegal aliens with terrorism connections are not barred from getting amnesty. An illegal alien seeking most immigration benefits must show “good moral character.” Last year’s bill specifically barred aliens with terrorism connections from having “good moral character” and being eligible for amnesty. This year’s bill does neither. Additionally, bill drafters ignored the Administration’s request that changes be made to the asylum, cancellation of removal, and withholding of removal statutes in order to prevent aliens with terrorist connections from receiving relief. [Compare §204 in S. 2611 from the 109th Congress with missing §204 on p. 48 of S.A. 1150, & see missing subsection (5) on p. 287 of S.A. 1150].
* Loophole 8 – Gang Members Are Eligible:
Instead of ensuring that members of violent gangs such as MS 13 are deported after coming out of the shadows to apply for amnesty, the bill will allow violent gang members to get amnesty as long as they “renounce” their gang membership on their application. [See p. 289: 34-36].
* Loophole 9 – Absconders Are Eligible:
Aliens who have already had their day in court – those subject to final orders of removal, voluntary departure orders, or reinstatement of their final orders of removal – are eligible for amnesty under the bill. The same is true for aliens who have made a false claim to citizenship or engaged in document fraud. More than 636,000 alien fugitives could be covered by this loophole. [See p. 285:19-22 which waives the following inadmissibility grounds: failure to attend a removal proceeding; final orders of removal for alien smuggling; aliens unlawfully present after previous immigration violations or deportation orders; and aliens previously removed. This appears to conflict with language on p. 283:40-41. When a direct conflict appears in a statute, the statue is interpreted by the courts to the benefit of the alien.].
* Loophole 10 – Learning English Not Required For A Decade:
Illegal aliens are not required to demonstrate any proficiency in English for more than a decade after they are granted amnesty. Learning English is not required for an illegal alien to receive probationary benefits, the first 4-year Z visa, or the second 4-year Z visa. The first Z visa renewal (the second 4-year Z visa) requires only that the alien demonstrate an “attempt” to learn English by being “on a waiting list for English classes.” Passing a basic English test is required only for a second Z visa renewal (the third 4-year Z visa), and even then the alien only has to pass the test “prior to the expiration of the second extension of Z status” (12 years down the road). [See pp. 295-296].
* Loophole 11 – Earned Income Tax Credit Will Cost Taxpayers Billions In Just 10 Years:
Current illegal aliens and new guest workers will be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable tax credit designed to encourage American citizens and legal permanent residents to work. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this loophole will cost the U.S. taxpayer up to $20 billion dollars in just the first 10 years after the bill’s enactment. To be consistent with the intent of the 1996 welfare reforms – which limited new immigrants from receiving public benefits until they had been legal permanent residents for five years – the bill should withhold EITC eligibility from amnestied aliens until they become legal permanent residents. Closing this loophole will save the taxpayers billions of dollars. [See p. 293 after S.A. 1190 was adopted, p. 307, p. 315, §606. All that is required for EITC eligibility is a social security number and resident alien status. Nothing in the bill’s tax provisions limit EITC eligibility. The issuance of social security numbers to aliens as soon as they apply for amnesty will ensure they are able to qualify for the EITC.]
* Loophole 12 – Affidavits From Friends Accepted As Evidence:
Records from day-labor centers, labor unions, and “sworn declarations” from any non-relative (acquaintances, friends, coworkers, etc) are to be accepted as evidence that the illegal alien has satisfied the bill’s amnesty requirements. This low burden of proof will invite fraud and more illegal immigration – even aliens who are not yet in the U.S. will likely meet this burden of proof. DHS will not have the resources to examine whether the claims contained in the “sworn declarations” of the alien’s friends (that the alien was here prior to January 1, 2007 and is currently employed) are actually valid. [See p. 293: 13-16].
* Loophole 13 – Taxpayer Funded Legal Counsel and Arbitration:
Free legal counsel and the fees and expenses of arbitrators will be provided to aliens that have been working illegally in agriculture. The U.S. taxpayer will fund the attorneys that help these individuals fill out their amnesty applications. Additionally, if these individuals have a dispute with their employer over whether they were fired for “just cause,” DHS will “pay the fee and expenses of the arbitrator.” [See p. 339:37-41, & p. 332: 37-38.]
* Loophole 14 – In-State Tuition and Student Loans:
In-state tuition and other higher education benefits, such as Stafford Loans, will be made available to current illegal aliens that are granted initial “probationary” status, even if the same in-state tuition rates are not offered to all U.S. citizens. This would normally violate current law (8 U.S.C. §1623) which mandates that educational institutions give citizens the same postsecondary education benefits they offer to illegal aliens. [See p. 321: 8-31].
* Loophole 15 – Inadequacy of the Merit System:
The “merit system,” designed to shift the U.S. green card distribution system to attract higher skilled workers that benefit the national interest, is only a shell of what it should have been. Though the merit system begins immediately, it will not increase the percentage of high skilled immigrants coming to the United States until 2016, 8 years after enactment. Of the 247,000 green cards dedicated to the merit based system each year for the first 5 years, 100,000 green cards will be reserved for low-skilled guest workers (10,000) and for clearing the current employment based green card backlog (90,000). From 2013 to 2015, the number of merit based green cards drops to 140,000, and of that number, 100,000 green cards are still reserved each year for low-skilled guest workers (10,000) and for clearing the current employment based green card backlog (90,000). Even after 2015, when the merit system really begins (in 2016) by having 380,000 green cards annually, 10,00 green cards will be reserved specifically for low skilled workers, and points will be given for many characteristics that are not considered “high-skilled.” For example, 16 points will be given for aliens in “high demand occupations” which includes janitors, maids, food preparation workers, and groundskeepers. [See p.260: 25 – p. 261: 20, p. 262, & The Department of Labor’s list of “occupations with the largest job growth” available at www.bls.gov/emp/emptab3.htm].
* Loophole 16 – Visas For Individuals That Plan To Overstay:
The new “parent” visa contained in the bill which allows parents of citizens, and the spouses and children of new temporary workers, to visit a worker in the United States is not only a misnomer, but also an invitation for high rates of visa overstays. This new visa specifically allows the spouse and children of new temporary workers who intend to abandon their residence in a foreign country, to qualify to come to the U.S. to “visit.” The visa requires only a $1,000 bond, which will be forfeited when, not if, family members of new temporary workers decide to overstay their 30 day visit. Workers should travel to their home countries to visit their families, not the other way around. [See p. 277:1 – 33, and p. 276: 38-43].
* Loophole 17 – Chain Migration Tippled Before Being Eliminated:
Though the bill will eventually eliminate chain migration (relatives other than spouses and children of citizens and legal permanent residents), it will not have full effect until 2016. Until then, chain migration into the U.S. will actually triple, from approximately 138,000 chain migrants a year (equal to 14% of the 1 million green cards the U.S. currently distributes on an annual basis) to approximately 440,000 chain migrants a year (equal to 45% of the 1 million green cards the U.S. currently distributes on an annual basis). [See pp. 260:13, p. 270: 29 – pp. 271: 17]
* Loophole 18 – Back Taxes Not Required:
Last year’s bill required illegal aliens to prove they had paid three of their last five years of taxes to get amnesty. This year, payment of back taxes is not required for amnesty. The bill requires taxes to be paid at the time of application for a green card, but at that time, only proof of payment of Federal taxes (not state and local) is required for the years the alien worked on a Z visa, not the years the alien has already worked illegally in the United States. Though Senator McCain’s S.A. 1190, adopted by voice vote, claimed to “require undocumented immigrants receiving legal status to pay owed back taxes,” the amendment actually only required proof of payment of taxes for “any year during the period of employment required by subparagraph (D)(i).” Since the bill does not contain a subparagraph (D)(i), nor require any past years of employment as a prerequisite for amnesty, the amendment essentially only requires proof of payment of taxes for future work in the U.S., not payment of “back taxes.” [See p. 307, and p. 293 as altered by S.A. 1190, amendment p. 2: 19-20.]
* Loophole 19 – Social Security Credits Allowed For Some Illegal Work Histories:
Aliens who came to the U.S. on legal visas, but overstayed their visas and have been working in the U.S. for years, as well as illegal aliens who apply for Z visa status but do not qualify, will be able to collect social security credits for the years they worked illegally. Under the bill, if an alien was ever issued a social security account number – all work-authorized aliens who originally came on legal visas receive these – the alien will receive Social Security credits for any “quarters of coverage” the alien worked after receiving their social security account number. Because the bill requires social security account numbers to be issued “promptly” to illegal aliens as soon as they are granted “any probationary benefits based upon application [for Z status]” (these benefits are granted 24 hours after the application is filed), an illegal alien who is denied Z visa status but continues to work illegally in the U.S. will accumulate Social Security credits. [See pp. 316:8 – 16, and pp. 315: 32-39]
* Loophole 20 – Criminal Fines Not Proportional To Conduct:
The criminal fines an illegal alien is required to pay to receive amnesty are less than the bill’s criminal fines for paperwork violations committed by U.S. citizens, and can be paid by installment. Under the bill, an illegal alien must pay a $1,000 criminal fine to apply for a Z visa, and a $4,000 fine to apply for a green card. Eighty percent of those fines can be paid on an installment plan. Under the bill’s confidentiality provisions, someone who improperly handles or uses information on an alien’s amnesty application can be fined $10,000. Administration officials suggest that the bill’s “criminal fines are proportionate to the criminal conduct.” Why, then, is the fine for illegally entering, using false documents to work, and live one-tenth the fine for a paperwork violation committed by a government official? [See p. 287: 34, p. 317: 9, p. 315:6-8, & remarks made by Secretary Gutierrez on Your World with Neil Cavuto, 4:00 May 31, 2007]
Aaron Drawhorn, Reporter
Arsonist Sought For Multiple Fires in Henderson
June 22, 2007 09:17 PM
Gary Huffman is nearly speechless. “I’m in shock right now,” he said. The damage to his house is jaw dropping.
Gary Huffman is nearly speechless. “I’m in shock right now,” he said. The damage to his house is jaw dropping.
The search is on for the person or persons responsible for starting several fires in Henderson, near the Las Vegas line.
Eight, possibly nine, different fires erupted early Friday morning around the same time and in the same area. Just after 4 a.m., firefighters were called to Eastern and Serene. When they arrived, they saw a house, a vehicle and several dumpsters on fire.
Thirty firefighters spent about 20 minutes putting out the flames. Fire officials say the fires are the work of an arsonist.
This arson attack did so much damage in so little time. One man’s home is in ruins after a fierce fire tore through it. The flames blended into the sunrise as Henderson firefighters battled the blaze. But the smoke didn’t clear right away.
A nearby dumpster set on fire could easily have burned down a brand new shopping center. And then there’s a small truck — torched and melted — swallowed by flames.
All eight fires erupted around the same time in the same area in the area of Eastern and Serene. All were set on purpose.
Gary Huffman is nearly speechless. “I’m in shock right now,” he said.
For Huffman, the damage is jaw dropping. His house stored much of carnival equipment used to put on Halloween shows for kids. Now it’s gone. Charred rubble and dangerous debris are all that’s left.
Tom Manzi used to live at the house and guard the carnival equipment. He, too, is in disbelief. “It’s just a shame. It’s senseless. It doesn’t make sense that someone would catch a building on fire; catch dumpsters and cars on fire for what? What are they going to get out of it?”
That’s what the woman who built the house in the 70s is asking. She came by, heard what happened and was literally in tears.
Henderson firefighters say they are interviewing persons of interest. They are also taking a close look at surveillance tape from businesses in the area so they can get this danger off the streets.
No one was hurt. Damage is estimated at $600,000.
http://www.klas-tv.com/global/story.asp?s=6697627&ClientType=Printable
The radio had a pile of tires burning, the day before these fires, they had been used in a race, to line the road and had been piled into a large pile.
Yesterday, it was an auto wrecking yard burning, near the line to the Nellis Military base.
as per kdwn.com radio
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/June/07_crm_444.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2007
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
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(202) 514-2007
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Extradited Software Piracy Ringleader Sentenced
to 51 Months in Prison
WASHINGTON – The leader of one of the oldest and most infamous Internet software piracy groups was sentenced today to 51 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today.
In one of the first ever extraditions for an intellectual property offense, Hew Raymond Griffiths, 44, a British national living in Bateau Bay, Australia, was brought to the United States in February 2007 to face criminal charges in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va. He pleaded guilty on April 20, 2007, before U.S. District Court Judge Claude M. Hilton. Prior to his arrival in the United States, he had spent nearly three years incarcerated at a detention center in Australia while fighting his extradition in Australian court.
“From his home in Australia, Griffiths became one of the most notorious leaders of the underground Internet piracy community by orchestrating the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars in copyrighted material,” said Assistant Attorney General Fisher. “The Justice Department is committed to protecting intellectual property rights, and will pursue those who commit such crimes beyond the borders of the United States where necessary.”
“Whether committed with a gun or a keyboard – theft is theft,” said U.S. Attorney Rosenberg. “And, for those inclined to steal Intellectual Property here, or from half-way around the world, they are on notice that we can and will reach them.”
Griffiths was a leader of an organized criminal group known as DrinkOrDie, which had a reputation as one of the oldest and most security-conscious piracy groups on the Internet. DrinkOrDie was founded in Russia in 1993 and expanded internationally throughout the 1990s. The group was dismantled by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of Operation Buccaneer in December 2001, with more than 70 raids conducted in the U.S. and five foreign countries, including the United Kingdom, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Australia. To date, Operation Buccaneer has resulted in more than 30 felony convictions in the United States and 11 convictions of foreign nationals overseas. Prior to its dismantling, DrinkOrDie was estimated to have caused the illegal reproduction and distribution of more than $50 million worth of pirated software, movies, games and music.
Griffiths, known by the screen nickname “Bandido,” was a longtime leader of DrinkOrDie and an elder in the highest echelons of the underground Internet piracy community, also known as the warez scene. In an interview published in December 1999 by an online news source, Griffiths boasted that even though he ran all of DrinkOrDie’s day-to-day operations and controlled access to more than 20 of the top warez servers worldwide, he would never be caught.
DrinkOrDie specialized in cracking software codes and distributing the cracked versions over the Internet. Their victims included not only well-known companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, Autodesk, Symantec and Novell, but also smaller companies whose livelihood depended on the sales revenue generated by one or two products. Once cracked, these software versions could be copied, used and distributed without limitation. Members stockpiled the illegal software on huge Internet computer storage sites that were filled with tens of thousands of individual software, game, movie and music titles worth millions of dollars. The group used encryption and an array of other sophisticated technological security measures to hide their activities from law enforcement.
This case was investigated by the Washington field office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in conjunction with the Customs Cybercenter in Fairfax, Va.
This case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Michael DuBose and Senior Counsel Jay Prabhu of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Wiechering of the Eastern District of Virginia.
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/June/
June 22, 2007
Philadelphia Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime (07-446)
A Philadelphia woman, Kia Reid, pleaded guilty today to committing a federal hate crime by sending a note threatening violence to her Arab-American supervisor at work, in an attempt to interfere with the supervisor’s federally protected employment activity. The announcement was made jointly by Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meehan, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 24, 2007. (Read more)
Former Pacific Consolidated Industries LP Executive Arrested for Conspiring to Bribe U.K. Ministry of Defence Official (07-445)
A former executive of Santa Ana, Calif.-based Pacific Consolidated Industries LP (PCI) has been arrested for allegedly violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) as part of a conspiracy to bribe a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence official in order to obtain lucrative contracts with the U.K. Royal Air Force, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney George S. Cardona of the Central District of California announced today. (Read more)
Extradited Software Piracy Ringleader Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison (07-444)
The leader of one of the oldest and most infamous Internet software piracy groups was sentenced today to 51 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today. (Read more)
June 21, 2007
Justice Department Asks Federal Court to Bar Two New Yorkers from Preparing Tax Returns for Others (07-443)
The United States has filed a suit in Brooklyn federal court seeking to bar Archie J. Pugh Jr. and his brother Theodore Pugh from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)
Five Charged in San Antonio Trafficking Ring (07-442)
A federal grand jury in San Antonio, Texas, late yesterday charged five individuals with sex trafficking of juvenile girls. Timothy Michael Gereb, Brent Andrew Stephens, Maria De Jesus Ochoa, Consuelo Pilar Ochoa, and Isabel Ochoa were charged with obtaining two minors to engage in commercial sex acts, and were further charged with using force, fraud and coercion to cause the two juveniles, as well as another victim, to engage in commercial sex acts. (Read more)
Prepared Statement of Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Civil Rights Division Oversight ()
“I am pleased to report on some outstanding accomplishments in the Civil Rights Division since I last appeared before the Committee seven months ago. I am proud of the professional attorneys and staff in the Division whose talents, dedication and hard work made these accomplishments possible.” (Read more)
June 20, 2007
U.S. Oil Tanker Firm to Pay $10 Million as Part of Largest-Ever Penalty for Concealing Vessel Pollution (07-441)
Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG) was sentenced today in Beaumont, Texas, to pay $10 million as part of a $37 million criminal settlement with the United States involving 33 felony counts, 12 oil tankers and ports located in Beaumont, Boston, Mass., Portland, Maine, San Francisco, Calif., and Wilmington, N.C., announced Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment & Natural Resources Division and John L. Ratcliffe, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas. (Read more)
Justice Department Appoints National Export Control Coordinator as Part of Enhanced Counter-Proliferation Effort (07-440)
The Justice Department has appointed Steven W. Pelak, an 18-year veteran federal prosecutor, to serve as the Justice Department’s first-ever National Export Control Coordinator to improve the investigation and prosecution of illegal exports of U.S. arms and sensitive technology, Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced today. (Read more)
June 19, 2007
Justice Department Files Joint Status Report on Microsoft’s Compliance with the Final Judgments (07-437)
The Department of Justice told the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that it has reached an agreement with Microsoft Corporation to resolve a complaint by Google regarding Microsoft’s desktop search function in Windows Vista. (Read more)
Department of Justice Settles Lawsuit Against Federation of Physicians and Dentists (07-436)
The Department of Justice today reached a settlement with the Florida-based Federation of Physicians and Dentists (Federation) and one of its employees that would prevent the Federation from coordinating members’ negotiations for fees and terms that resulted in increased fees among Cincinnati-area OB-GYNs. (Read more)
Houston Firm Pays U.S. to Resolve Allegations of Overcharging for Container Shipments to Iraq (07-435)
EGL, Inc., operating as Eagle Global Logistics, has paid the United States $300,000 to settle allegations that the company’s local agent in Kuwait overcharged the military for rental charges on shipping containers to Iraq for the period from January through June of 2006, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)
Justice Department Seeks to Bar Two North Carolinians from Preparing Tax Returns for Others (07-434)
The United States has sued two federal income tax preparers and their business, seeking to bar them from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)
June 18, 2007
Former Enron Broadband Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Rice Sentenced on Securities Fraud Charge (07-433)
Kenneth Rice, a former chief executive officer of Enron Broadband Services (EBS), was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to forfeit approximately $15 million to be used to compensate victims of the Enron fraud, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)
Federal Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violation (07-432)
Former Bureau of Prisons Officer Christopher Conner pleaded guilty today to a one-count felony information charging him with depriving an inmate of his constitutional rights, the Justice Department announced. (Read more)
June 15, 2007
Former Klansman, James Ford Seale Found Guilty for Role in 1964 Kidnapping and Murder of Two African-American Men (07-431)
“Today’s conviction of James Ford Seale brings some long overdue justice to the families of Henry Dee and Charles Moore, who were brutally murdered more than 40 years ago,” said Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. “Racially motivated violence—whenever it occurred—will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I would like to thank the dedicated professionals at the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Civil Rights Division for their hard work in seeing that justice was done in this case.” (Read more)
June 13, 2007
U.S. Announces $60.7 Million Clean Air Act Settlement with Nevada Power (07-429)
The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a $60.7 million Clean Air Act settlement with Nevada Power Company that will improve air quality in the Clark County/Las Vegas, Nev. area by requiring the company to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a harmful air pollutant, from its Clark Generating Station by about 2,300 tons annually. (Read more)
Statement of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales on Report to the President on Issues Raised By the Virginia Tech Tragedy (07-428)
“The tragedy on the campus of Virginia Tech was deeply unsettling to me and millions of Americans. At the direction of President Bush, I along with Secretaries Leavitt and Spellings, traveled to communities across the country to lead a national dialogue and receive input from government and community leaders who have been grappling with the difficult balances to be struck between public safety, mental health policy, and individual liberty and privacy.” (Read more)
June 12, 2007
Justice Department Reaches Agreement Requiring Divestitures in Merger of First Busey Corporation and Main Street Trust Inc. (07-426)
The Department of Justice announced today that First Busey Corporation and Main Street Trust Inc. have agreed to sell five branch offices with approximately $110 million in deposits in Champaign County, Ill., in order to resolve antitrust concerns about the companies’ pending merger. After an investigation, the Department concluded that without the divestitures the merger likely would adversely affect competition in the local markets for commercial banking and retail banking services. The proposed merger will combine two major local banks based in central Illinois, Busey Bank of Urbana and Main Street Bank & Trust of Champaign. The merged bank will have approximately $3.6 billion in assets and $2.7 billion in total deposits. (Read more)
June 11, 2007
Statement of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division on Its Decision to Close Its Investigation of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc.’s Acquisition of CBOT Holdings Inc. (07-422)
“After an extensive investigation of both the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) proposed acquisition of CBOT and the 2003 agreement under which CME provides clearing services to CBOT, the Antitrust Division determined that the evidence does not indicate that either the transaction or the clearing agreement is likely to reduce competition substantially.” (Read more)
National Ambulance Provider Rural/Metro Corporation to Pay U.S. $2.5 Million for Violating False Claims Act (07-420)
Rural/Metro Corporation, one of the nation’s largest ambulance providers, has agreed to pay the United States over $2.5 million to resolve allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act, the Justice Department announced today. The government alleged that the ambulance company provided illegal inducements to hospitals in Texas in exchange for referrals. (Read more)
June 8, 2007
Justice Department Settles Employment Discrimination Lawsuit Against the City of Chesapeake, Virginia Police Department (07-418)
The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with the City of Chesapeake, Va. regarding an employment discrimination lawsuit filed in 2006. Pending court approval, the consent decree will settle the government’s lawsuit that alleged that the city’s hiring practices for entry-level police officers have an unlawful disparate impact on African-American and Hispanic applicants, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000 et sec. (Read more)
Former Department of Defense Official Sentenced for Stealing Over $100,000 in DOD Intelligence Funds (07-416)
A former Intelligence Contingency Funds (ICF) officer for the Department of Defense, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for stealing over $100,000 in intelligence funds from his former employer, Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher for the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)
Italia Federici Pleads Guilty to Evading Taxes and Obstructing Senate Investigation into Abramoff Corruption Scandal (07-415)
Italia Federici, the president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA), pleaded guilty to one count of income tax evasion and one count of obstructing the U.S. Senate’s investigation into the corruption scandal surrounding former lobbyist Jack A. Abramoff, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and Assistant Attorney General Eileen J. O’Connor of the Tax Division announced today. (Read more)
June 7, 2007
Tanker Company and Second Engineer Indicted for Dumping Oil and Obstruction of Justice (07-414)
Ionia Management, a Greek company that manages a fleet of tanker vessels, was indicted today for its role in overboard dumping of waste oil from the M/T Kriton into international waters and their efforts to impede the United States Coast Guard and other authorities from learning of the illegal conduct. (Read more)
Two Individuals Arrested for Conspiracy to Import Falsely Labeled Fish (07-413)
Two individuals, David S. Wong and David Chu, were arrested today in Chicago and San Francisco, respectively, for charges related to conspiracy to import falsely labeled fish, the Justice Department announced. (Read more)
Assistant Attorney General Eileen J. O’connor Announces Departure from Justice Department’s Tax Division (07-412)
Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division since 2001, has announced her resignation, effective the end of June. President Bush nominated Ms. O’Connor to the position on May 24, 2001, and the Senate confirmed her appointment in July of that year. As Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division, Ms. O’Connor has been a member of the President’s Corporate Fraud Task Force. (Read more)
Former Alcatel Executive Pleads Guilty to Participation in Payment of $2.5 Million in Bribes to Senior Costa Rican Officials to Obtain a Mobile Telephone Contract (07-411)
A former Alcatel CIT executive pleaded guilty to participating in the payment of more than $2.5 million in bribes to senior Costa Rican government officials in order to obtain a mobile telephone contract from Costa Rica’s state-owned telecommunications authority, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Department of Justice announced today. (Read more)
Foreign Operator of Obscene Web Sites Pleads Guilty to Obscenity Charges (07-410)
Danilo Simoes Croce, 43, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, an officer of Lex Multimedia, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to an obscenity-related charge in U.S. District Court in Orlando, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)
June 6, 2007
Justice Department Names New Director of Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism (07-408)
Heather L. Cartwright, a veteran federal prosecutor and victim witness coordinator, has been appointed to be the new Director of the Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism (OJVOT), Assistant Attorney General for National Security Kenneth L. Wainstein announced today. (Read more)
Virginia Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging on Contracts with the U.S. Navy and Others (07-407)
former chief financial officer of a Virginia marine products company has agreed to plead guilty, serve 18 months in prison, and pay a $75,000 criminal fine for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids and allocate customers with respect to marine products purchased by the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other public and private entities, the Department of Justice announced today. The executive, Donald Murray, was also charged for his role in a conspiracy to embezzle money from his former Clearbrook, Va., employer. (Read more)
June 5, 2007
Former DOD Employee Pleads Guilty to Charges Involving Fraud and Theft from the Army (07-406)
A former civilian employee of the Department of Defense (DOD) and former member of the California Army National Guard, has pleaded guilty to defrauding the United States and conspiring with four other individuals to do the same, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)
Three Salvadoran Nationals Indicted on Racketeering Charges for Participation in Violent International Gang (07-405)
A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Md., has charged leaders of the violent street gang known as MS-13 with federal racketeering crimes, including two men who allegedly ordered murders inside the United States from their prison cells in El Salvador, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales announced today. (Read more)
June 4, 2007
Justice Department to Monitor Elections in New Jersey and South Carolina (07-403)
The Justice Department today announced that on June 5, 2007, it will monitor local elections in Bergen County, Edison, and Penns Grove, N.J., and in Hollywood, S.C., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act. (Read more)
Congressman William Jefferson Indicted On Bribery, Racketeering, Money Laundering, Obstruction of Justice, and Related Charges (07-402)
United States Congressman William J. Jefferson was indicted today by a federal grand jury on charges including bribery and racketeering for allegedly using his office to corruptly solicit bribes and for paying bribes to a foreign official, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today. (Read more)
June 1, 2007
Department of Justice and EPA Announce Proposed $4.6 Million Settlement with Midamerican Energy Company and the City of Le Mars, Iowa (07-400)
The Department of Justice on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that a proposed consent decree was lodged today with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa in United States v. MidAmerican Energy Company and the City of Le Mars, Iowa. (Read more)
Federal Officials Close Investigation into Fatal Shooting of Dr. Salvatore J. Culosi Jr. by Fairfax County Police Officer (07-399)
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced today that there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against a Fairfax County Police Department officer who shot and killed Dr. Salvatore J. Culosi Jr. on January 24, 2006. (Read more)
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales Announces Expansion of Justice Department Efforts and Proposes New Legislation to Help Prevent and Combat Violent Crime (07-398)
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today, speaking before employees at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), unveiled new cities designated for targeted federal violent crime task forces and announced new comprehensive legislation that strengthens federal laws targeting violent criminals as part of the Department’s expanding efforts to fight violent crime. (Read more)
International Competition Network Presents Report on Unilateral Conduct and Announces Merger Convergence Project (07-397)
Assistant Attorney General Thomas O. Barnett Promotes Antitrust Convergence on Substantive Merger Review Issues (Read more)
Former Department of Defense Employee Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison on Corruption Charges (07-396)
A former Department of Defense (DOD) employee was sentenced to 12 months in prison for accepting illegal gratuities from a government contractor, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)
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