THREAT MATRIX: 2010 #2

March 2, 2010 | TM Crew

[JustPiper]

~M’Dear your doing a great job with the TM thread, keep up the good work, you are needed more than ever now!

[caww]

OMINOUS DEVELOPMENT..............(Joel Rosenberg)

Will Israel Strike By August?

Washington, D.C., April 15, 2010) — Russia has just announced that it intends to allow the Iranian nuclear reactor facility located in Bushehr (near the Persian Gulf) to go live in August. This is an ominous development.

Now Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has a fateful decision to make. Will he order a preemptive military strike against all of Iran’s nuclear sites before August when the Bushehr site becomes “hot”? His mentor, Menachem Begin, ordered an Israeli air strike against Saddam Hussein’s Osirik nuclear reactor in Iraq before it went hot in 1981. Netanyahu wants the world to act with decisive unity to stop Iran from getting the Bomb. But that is increasingly unlikely. The Obama administration is no longer calling for “crippling sanctions,” and even if they were, it appears to be too late for sanctions to be effective. U.S. officials — including Defense Secretary Robert Gates — says Iran could have the Bomb by next year. German intelligence thinks it could be sooner.

WE MUST PREPARE FOR PEACE. BUT PREPARE FOR WAR Here’s how:

* We need to preach the gospel to all the people of the epicenter, including our enemies. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I had the remarkable opportunity to go on live satellite TV into Iran and share the gospel, teach on Bible prophecy, and explain God’s love for Iran and Israel and all the people of the world. Millions saw the program. We answered live calls from Iran, Europe, the U.S. and even China......

more on....http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/

In adding to this my take at this point.....Some believe Obama will stall it all until October, just before the election, so that the people will stand behind him. Thus their vote...Countries do tend to stand with their Pres. when war is declared....I think it’s possible could play out like this. Bo’s October Surprise?

[rdl6989]

Officials Say Iran Could Make Bomb Fuel in a Year

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/world/middleeast/15nuke.html

[azishot]

I was just reading a link about this. Really, really scary. This stuff was left out in the open. How much more is out there.

Does this administration even care???

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.5982/pub_detail.asp

[rdl6989]

Does this administration even care?

Worst failure in history.

[null and void]

Reads more like a simple industrial accident.

Similar incident a few years back with a large number of casualties due, IIRC, to someone stealing a source to scrap out the lead shielding.

Goiânia Brazil, the pretty glowing pellets got scattered widely in the neighborhood by children playing with them, guys presenting them to girlfriends, etc...

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Thank you for the in-depth. Saved on drive. FRegards ....

[caww]

Interesting times on the move this week....like a pressure cooker now in the Middle East. Israel holding back to make certain enough in the world see the situation as it is. even if not supporting her. Israel will make certain whatever they the plan it is documented in every way.

[blackie]

Any loose nuclear material should not be trifled with.

[blackie]

I just contribute a few wisecracks... ;)

[Unrepentant VN Vet]

As do I.

(Still lurking and watching.....)

[MamaDearest]

ICE busts massive human smuggling ring that stretches length of US

Snip: More than 800 law enforcement agents swooped down on a massive human smuggling ring in Arizona early Thursday morning, delivering a "stunning blow" to a criminal network that helped shuttled illegal immigrants all around the country.

ICE agents targeted shuttle van services they believe have ferried thousands of illegal immigrants from southern Arizona to Phoenix, providing passengers fake $30 ride receipts and even coaching them on how to answer law enforcement agents if the buses were stopped at immigration checkpoints along the highway. From there the illegal immigrants were left at drop-houses or brought to shuttle services that offer rides to destinations all over the West Coast.

Inside the U.S., the owners and operators of the Tucson-based Saguaro Roadrunner Shuttles, America's Shuttles, Guerro's Shuttles and Nogales Express Shuttles were all targeted in the raid, as were the operators of a fifth shuttle company in Phoenix, Sergio's Shuttle.

On the surface the vans appear like any other shared-ride shuttles, taking about a dozen passengers around southern Arizona. But ICE officials said the companies relied almost entirely on criminal activity.

ICE dubbed the investigation "Operation In Plain Sight" because of the "brazen" nature of the alleged smuggling scheme, which helped immigrants from Mexico, Central America and even China escape the watchful eye of border agents.

[MamaDearest]

US terror targets unprotected, according to former CIA official

Snips: "Amazingly...as you tour this nation and examine the prime targets that beg to be defended from terrorist attack, what you find, eight years later, is that virtually nothing meaningful has been done," Faddis writes. "True, large new bureaucracies have been created and shiny, new office buildings constructed, but in terms of concrete measures which will stand in the way of determined, evil men, there is very, very little."

When Faddis visited the Army's sprawling Fort Myer in northern Virginia, two "surly, lazy" guards conducted an "absolute minimum" examination of his car, he writes. The lackluster search was typical of his experiences: During the months he spent casing facilities, security guards turned him away only once after deciding he had no business being in the facility, he writes. He finds it incredible that military bases, chemical plants and other facilities lack barriers against car bombs and don't aggressively inspect cars for concealed explosives -- both standard practice at embassies around the world.

At a suburban office park in Maryland, he discovered that a biological laboratory full of deadly viruses didn't have guards, gates, fences or security cameras likes those he found at a nearby bank. His book reviews a litany of security flaws in the bioweapons research world revealed by the 2001 anthrax attacks, which were allegedly the work of a disgruntled scientist, and criticizes the dramatic increase in the number of labs handling lethal substances.

[MestaMachine]

U.S. Gave Millions To Charity Linked To Al Qaeda, Anwar Awlaki

The U.S. Department of Labor gave millions of dollars to a joint venture that included a Yemeni charity with extensive links to Al Qaeda.

At least $3.5 million was allocated by the Labor Department to fund a three-year partnership between the Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW), based in Yemen, and CHF International, a Maryland-based foundation, to fight child labor and child trafficking starting in fiscal year 2008.

The money was provided through a grant by the Labor Department's Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT), according to a Labor Department press release, the agency's Web site and Middle Eastern news sources.

CSSW, based in Yemen, was founded by Abdul Majid Al Zindani, a veteran of the jihad against the Soviet Union and its civil war aftermath. Zindani was an associate of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, according to published reports. and other documents. The U.S. government believes he is an Al Qaeda recruiter and fundraiser.

Zindani was named as a specially designated global terrorist by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2004, nearly four years before the grant was issued.

Wanted fugitive and radical Yemeni-American cleric Anwar Awlaki served as a vice president for the organization during the 1990s. Awlaki is also believed to be associated with Al Qaeda.

The CSSW Web site lists partner organizations including the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and the Qatar Charitable Society, both of which are believed by the U.S. government to be Al Qaeda financing vehicles.

The U.S. alleges that IIRO helped finance the Manila-based Bojinka plot to blow up U.S. airliners in 1995. According to an Al Qaeda informant, Osama bin Laden has stated that Qatar Charitable Society funds were used to pay for an attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek, also in 1995.

CSSW was also the subject of an FBI terrorism financing investigation in 2003, five years prior to the Department of Labor grant approval.
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Your tax dollars at work....
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American Jihadists 'Warn' South Park Creators Of Death For Offending Muslims

A Web site run by Americans who support Al Qaeda and other jihadist movements has "warned" South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone that by airing a cartoon image of the Prophet Mohammed "they will probably end up like Theo Van Gogh," the Dutch filmmaker assassinated for offending Islam with a film critical of some Muslims' practices regarding women.

The site featured a photograph of Van Gogh with his throat cut and a dagger in his chest.

It also linked to information published elsewhere about where the television creators live.

South Park's 200th episode dealt with the Mohammed image taboo directly. It wasn't clear whether a caricature of Mohammed will appear in the next episode.

"We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show," wrote the site's blogger under the nom de guerre Abu Talha Al Amreekee. "This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them."

The site frequently posts material supporting and celebrating terrorists and jihadists around the world including Yemeni-American cleric Anwar Awlaki and Al Qaeda head Osama bin Laden.
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Just another day....
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The Drug Trade in Afghanistan Fuels Terrorism
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[MestaMachine]

Abdul Majid Al Zindani

US TREASURY
FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

United States Designates bin Laden Loyalist

February 24, 2004
JS-1190

The Treasury Department today announced that Shaykh Abd-al-Majid AL-ZINDANI, a loyalist to Usama bin Laden and supporter of al-Qaeda, has been designated by the United States as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under the authority of Executive Order 13224 and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. His name will be submitted to the UN Security Council’s 1267 Committee’s consolidated list because of his support to bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

“With this action, the international community’s drumbeat against terrorist financiers continues to grow louder and the financial noose around al-Qaeda continues to grow tighter,” said Juan Zarate, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime.

The U.S. has credible evidence that AL-ZINDANI, a Yemeni national, supports designated terrorists and terrorist organizations.

AL-ZINDANI has a long history of working with bin Laden, notably serving as one of his spiritual leaders. In this leadership capacity, he has been able to influence and support many terrorist causes, including actively recruiting for al-Qaeda training camps. Most recently, he played a key role in the purchase of weapons on behalf of al-Qaeda and other terrorists.

AL-ZINDANI also served as a contact for Ansar al-Islam (Al), a Kurdish-based terrorist organization linked to al-Qaeda, which is included in the UN 1267 sanctions Committee list.

AL-ZINDANI is the founder and leader of the Al Iman University in Sanaa, Yemen, which has over 5,000 enrollees. Al Iman students are suspected of being responsible, and were arrested, for recent terrorist attacks, including the assassination of three American missionaries and the assassination of the number two leader for the Yemeni Socialist party, Jarallah Omar. Notably, John Walker Lindh was also a student at Al Iman University before he joined the Taliban.

AL-ZINDANI, born circa 1950, has used the aliases Abdelmajid Al-Zindani and Shaykh Abd Al-Majid Al-Zindani. He holds a Yemen passport, no. A005487, which was issued on August 13, 1995.

Executive Order 13224 provides means to disrupt the support network that funds terrorism. Under this order, the United States government may block the assets of individuals and entities providing support, financial or otherwise, to designated terrorists and terrorist organizations. Blocking actions are critical to combating the financing of terrorism.

When a blocking action is put into place, any assets that exist in the formal financial system at the time of the orders are frozen. Blocking actions serve additional functions as well, e.g., they act as a deterrence for non-designated parties who might otherwise be willing to finance terrorist activity; expose terrorist financing “money trails” that may generate leads to previously unknown terrorist cells and financiers; disrupt terrorist financing networks by encouraging designated terrorist supporters to disassociate themselves from terrorist activity and renounce their affiliation with terrorist groups; terminate terrorist cash flows by shutting down the pipelines used to move terrorist- related assets; force terrorist to use alternative, more costly, and higher-risk means of financing their activities; and engender international cooperation and compliance with obligations under UN Security Council Resolutions.

Designation under the UN Security Council’s 1267 Committee’s consolidated list will trigger international obligations on all member countries, requiring them to take steps to prevent designated individuals and entities from continuing to fund or otherwise support terrorism. It is also a critical action to publicly identify these supporters of terrorism, providing warning to other entities that they are prohibited from doing business with them.

The Treasury Department is committed to stopping terrorism by taking action against those who fund it. With this designation, 351 individuals and entities will have been designated under President Bush’s Executive Order aimed at freezing the assets of terrorists and their supporters – Executive Order 13224. At least $139 million in assets has been kept out of the control of terrorists as a result of efforts by the United States and its allies.

[MamaDearest]

I seriously doubt South Park will go through with the Mohammad sketch. The entire world is terrified of offending Muslims.

Man faces gun charges after cache of weapons found

Federal officials said on Friday that a large amount of weapons were found at the home of a man who allegedly stole the identity of someone bound to a wheelchair and suffering from cerebral palsy, and used it to try to flee the country.

Abdullah Mohammed Muslim, formerly known as Johnnie Clagg, faces felony gun charges, 10TV's Andy Hirsch reported.

Feds to review 34 weapons found in woods

Federal authorities are expected to review nearly three dozen guns found in a wooded area of Clare County in central Michigan.

[MamaDearest]

Warning bells clanging over newest 'super bug ' threat

Last month, public health researchers reported that six Canadians — one in Ontario, five in Saskatchewan — were infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, drug-resistant staph. That may not sound unusual, but there was something odd about their illnesses: They were caused by a strain that during the last few years has spread through livestock and farm workers in Europe and North America. But the Canadians made sick by the bacterium had no contact with animals or farming; one of them, an elderly woman, had been housebound for several years.

Osama bin Laden's Facebook account disabled

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's profile on social networking website Facebook has been shut down, after a security expert raised the issue with the website's U.S. owners. According to reports, Osama had a Facebook page named "The leader of the Mujahideen, Osama bin Laden", and he used it as a platform to show videos and speeches to Islamic militants.

Obama moves to de-link terrorism from Islam

Snips: The officials said the change would remove terms like “Islamic radicalism” from the National Security Strategy, a document that was created by the previous administration to outline the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war.

Instead of calling terror groups Muslim or Islamic, the guide suggests using words like totalitarian, terrorist or violent extremist — “widely understood terms that define our enemies appropriately and simultaneously deny them any level of legitimacy.”

“Never use the terms ‘jihadist’ or ‘mujahideen’ … to describe the terrorists,” instructs the guide. “A mujahid, a holy warrior, is a positive characterisation in the context of a just war. In Arabic, jihad means ‘striving in the path of God’ and is used in many contexts beyond warfare. Calling our enemies Jihadis and their movement a global Jihad unintentionally legitimises their actions.”

[MamaDearest]

De-linking link did not work: Here's a replacement:

Reminder for about a year ago:

Janet Napolitano refuses to use the term "terrorist"

 In my speech, although I did not use the word “terrorism,” I referred to “man-caused” disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.

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Obama moves to de-link terrorism from Islam

Snips: Instead of calling terror groups Muslim or Islamic, the guide suggests using words like totalitarian, terrorist or violent extremist — “widely understood terms that define our enemies appropriately and simultaneously deny them any level of legitimacy.”

By employing the language the extremists use about themselves, the guide warns, officials can inadvertently help legitimise them in the eyes of Muslims.

“Never use the terms ‘jihadist’ or ‘mujahideen’ … to describe the terrorists,” instructs the guide. “A mujahid, a holy warrior, is a positive characterisation in the context of a just war. In Arabic, jihad means ‘striving in the path of God’ and is used in many contexts beyond warfare. Calling our enemies Jihadis and their movement a global Jihad unintentionally legitimises their actions.”

The guide also bans the use of the word caliphate to describe Al Qaeda’s goal. The term “has positive connotations for Muslims,” says the guide, adding, “The best description of what (Al Qaeda) really want to create is a ‘global totalitarian state.’”

[MestaMachine]

I don’t know, Mama. South Park has been pretty fearless so far. They already aired a Mo episode. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see. You know Americans are fond of saying and believing “it can’t happen here,”...until it happens.

I am a little fascinated by where abu is going to take his family in NC for vacation.

Islamic Center of Asheville
941 Old Fairview Rd, Asheville, NC

[blackie]

It’s lotsa fun...