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Monday, November 7, 2011

What's going on in the World Today 111107

From the movie The Debt, about an Israeli team sent to East Germany in 65 to capture a Nazi war criminal.

[back in 1965; Stephan referring to Rachel who's posing as David's wife for the mission and telling her the men would share a room]

Young Stephan: What do you think of your new wife?
Young David: She's too young.
Young Stephan: Very pretty. You didn't noticed. You know what I have noticed? You don't notice women. You don't notice them. How long have I known you?
Young David: I don't know.
Young Stephan: Two years. All the places we've been to, you never look at women. Is there anything you have to tell me before I get into that bed?
[Rachel comes out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel and David gives her a look]
Young Stephan: I think you just noticed.


Been off the net so I figured I would add something to this. Have a great week!
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USA
U.S. Naval Update Map: Nov. 2, 2011

November 2, Associated Press – (Colorado) Boulder police officer among 2 Army National Guard members accused over stolen silencers. One of two Boulder, Colorado Army National Guard members arrested by federal authorities is a Boulder police officer accused of stealing two Army-issued assault rifle silencers while serving as a staff sergeant with the Guard. The patrol officer is on unpaid leave pending an internal investigation, the Boulder Police Chief told the Daily Camera November 2. The police officer and fellow Guard member of Northglenn were arrested last week following a month-long investigation by federal agents. The officer is accused of stealing two .223-caliber silencers designed to fit an M-4/AR-15-style assault rifle from the Army and giving them to the other Guard member, according to federal court documents. He is accused of selling them this fall for $800 to an informant working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The officer, who was on the Boulder police force since January 2010, is charged with stealing from the Department of Defense and possessing firearms silencers not registered to him. The other Guard member is charged with receiving and concealing federal property, and with possessing silencers not registered to him. Both men pleaded not guilty and are free on unsecured $10,000 bonds. Both are part-time guardsmen with B company, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment in Fort Lupton. They could face up to 10 years in prison on each count, if convicted. Source: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/7d88855e9c3849839cbe93b6fd8cdfa3/CO-- Guardsmen-Arrested/

 November 2, Associated Press – (California) 3 charged in Los Angeles SWAT weapons theft. Three more men have been charged in the theft of a Los Angeles SWAT weapons cache from a downtown training facility, the Associate Press reported November 2. Thirty weapons, including machine guns, were stolen last month. The firearms had been altered to fire plastic pellets for training exercises. Prosecutors said a 28-year-old is being charged with unlawful assault weapon activity, and possession of a firearm by a felon. His 24-year-old brother is being charged with possession of a machine gun. City News Service said the brothers pleaded not guilty November 1. Prosecutors also charged a 31-year-old man with possession of a machine gun. He will be arraigned November 30. On October 31, a 29-year-old man, and a 41-year-old man pleaded not guilty to grand theft, and other charges. Source: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/02/4024579/3-charged-in-los-angeles- swat.html

November 2, Denton Record-Chronicle – (Texas) Officials: Ring targeted gas
wells. Denton County, Texas, sheriff’s investigators arrested five people near Justin October 31, and expect to make more arrests in connection with criminal activity involving the sale of narcotics and the theft of property from gas well sites. A sheriff’s sergeant said 31 people have been identified as participants in the scheme. The five who were found at the property in the 1700 block of Mary Polk Road were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity. “People were stealing the gas well equipment and trading it to them for drugs, and they were stealing equipment themselves,” she said. According to an affidavit used to obtain the arrests, a joint investigation that included narcotics officers had been ongoing for about 2 months. Numerous instances of theft from well sites had been reported in the western portion of Denton County. The thefts involved $300 batteries, solar panels, and other well equipment. Sheriff’s investigators, deputies, and animal control officers went to the property near Justin October 31 with search warrants. They recovered $25,000 worth of stolen property, according to the court document.
Source:  http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_Arrests_1102. 25da27936.html

November 2, Anchorage Daily News – (Alaska) Soldier, 22, held on suspicion of spying. A 22-year-old U.S. Army military policeman from Joint Base Elmendorf- Richardson (JBER) near Anchorage, Alaska is in custody on suspicion of espionage, an FBI spokesman said November 1. The soldier was booked in the Anchorage jail October 28. He’s being held without bail, a jail spokesman said. An Army spokesman said the Kentucky resident was arrested October 28 by special agents from the Army counterintelligence service, and the Army Criminal Investigation Command. An FBI spokesman said the suspect was arrested following an investigation by the FBI and Army counterintelligence. He said the case is being handled in the military justice system. The suspect was assigned to the 164th Military Police Company, part of the 793rd Military Police Battalion of the new 2nd Engineer Brigade at JBER, according to an Army spokesman.
Source: http://www.adn.com/2011/11/01/2149870/22-year-old-soldier-held-on- suspicion.html?storylink=tacoma

November 2, Associated Press – (National; Georgia) 4 men in Ga. accused of planning ricin attacks. Four men in Georgia intended to use an online novel as a script for a real-life wave of terror and assassination using explosives and the lethal toxin ricin, according to court documents. Federal agents raided their north Georgia homes November 1 and arrested them on charges of conspiring to plan the attacks. The four men are scheduled to appear in court November 3. Relatives of two of the men said the charges were baseless. Court documents accused the men of trying to obtain an explosive device and a silencer to carry out targeted attacks on government buildings and employees. Two of the men are also accused of trying to seek out a formula to produce ricin, a biological toxin that can be lethal in small doses. One suspect discussed ways of dispersing ricin from an airplane in the sky over Washington D.C., court records state. Another suspected member of the group intended to use the plot of an online novel as a model for plans to attack U.S. federal law officers and others, authorities said. Court documents state the 73-year-old man told others he intended to model their actions on the online novel “Absolved,” which involves small groups of citizens attacking U.S. officials. Investigators said the four men took several concrete steps to carry out their plans. One suspect is accused of driving to Atlanta with a confidential informant to scope out federal buildings that house the IRS and other agencies. He and another suspect also arranged to buy what they thought was an explosive device and a silencer from an undercover agent. The men were arrested days after a lab test confirmed they had trace amounts of ricin in their possession, authorities said. Court records indicate at least two of the suspects are former federal employees. Prosecutors say one suspect said he would like to make 10 pounds of ricin and simultaneously place it in several U.S. cities. Source: http://www.chron.com/news/article/Feds-arrest-4-in-alleged-Ga-ricin-attack- plot-2248031.php

EUROPE

Portfolio: The Greek Referendum - The End Begins

ASIA

Japanese Military's Expanding Mission Takes It into South Sudan

Partners for U.S. Re-Engagement in Asia

RUSSIA

Russia: Thousands Of Nationalists Protest In Moscow November 4, 2011

Police estimate that 7,000 Russian nationalists and neo-Nazis marched through a working-class neighborhood and around the outskirts of Moscow on Nov. 4, calling for ethnic Russians to retake their country, AP reported.

In Europe's Crisis, Russia Sees Opportunity
 
IRAN

Iran: FM Confirms IRGC Involvement In Saudi Assassination Plot November 2, 2011

An unnamed source close to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi confirmed the involvement of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in the assassination plot against the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Al Arabiya reported Nov. 2. The unnamed source said Salehi’s comments came during a recent meeting with Mohammed Nahavandian, former assistant at the National Security Council and the current president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The source quoted Salehi as saying the plot was about to be implemented and it was not fabricated by U.S. authorities.
 
IRAQ

Iraq: U.S. Official To Discuss Trainers' Immunity November 3, 2011

A high-ranking U.S. official will arrive in Iraq in the next two days to discuss granting legal immunity to U.S. trainers, a high-ranking Iraqi official said, Al Hayat reported Nov. 3. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry denied that the visitor would be Vice President Joe Biden, and political observers are expecting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the source said. The U.S. official will discuss legislation that will define Iraq’s relationship with the United States until 2020 and will protect U.S. soldiers who remain in Iraq after the withdrawal deadline. The law is an alternative to the security agreement that expires Dec. 31 and is comprised of ten articles to protect U.S. soldiers from Iraqi laws, enable them to protect Iraq’s sovereignty, allow them to repeal external or internal threats and manage Iraq’s civilian and military airspace, the source said.
 
ISRAEL

Israel: Navy Takes Control Of Gaza-Bound Ships November 4, 2011

Israeli naval fighters took control of the two ships that were carrying pro-Palestinian activists from Turkey to Gaza, Ynet news reported Nov. 4. Israel Defense Forces warned the ships to stop and dock in Israel or turn to Egypt, but the ships refused. The Israeli naval vessels then led the ships to Israel’s Ashdod port.

Palestinian Territories: Israel Launches Air Strike In Gaza After Clashes November 3, 2011

Israel launched an air strike in northern Gaza on Nov. 3 after clashes broke out between Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and Palestinian militants, Palestinian medical officials said, NOW Lebanon reported. Palestinian security forces said the militants and IDF soldiers exchanged fire after the soldiers crossed the border into Palestinian territory near al-Sudaniyya during routine activity near the northern Gaza security fence. The fighting damaged the IDF vehicle. An Israeli tank returned fire with three shells and an Israeli helicopter killed two militants, Reuters reported, citing Palestinian medics. According to an Israeli military spokesman, operations are still ongoing.
 
AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan Weekly War Update: NATO Convoy Attacked Near Kabul

MIDDLE EAST

Why Syrian Pilots Are Operating in Yemen

Dispatch: Jordan's Warming Ties with Hamas

5November 2, Global Security Newswire – (International) Details emerge about undeclared Libyan chemical arms. Libya’s interim government November 1 disclosed it had taken control of two chemical weapons storage sites that had not been declared by the former regime of the country’s long-time dictator Agence France- Presse reported. Libya agreed in 2003 to shutter its weapons of mass destruction programs. Tripoli the next year joined the Chemical Weapons Convention, which required the dictator’s regime to declare and eliminate all stocks of chemical warfare materials and precursor substances. Libya’s former ruler declared a chemical weapons site at al-Jafra, but went to lengths to keep the other two sites secret, according to the nation’s new leadership. One of the undeclared locations holds chemical arms “ready for immediate military use,” said a Libyan specialist charged with managing the leftover materials. The expert said the two secret facilities have been “securitized” and do not represent a health danger. When civil war broke out in Libya in February, the regime had 9.5 metric tons of mustard gas, in addition to hundreds of tons of precursor material, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has said. To prevent the former regime from using the mustard gas, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) secretly dispatched personnel to work with opposition specialists to monitor the toxic material, said the specialist. He said the task force maintained surveillance on the chemical arms sites, and eventually took control of them. The former dictator “quickly abandoned the idea of using chemical weapons, the Americans were watching over them from too near,” said the deceased ruler’s former head of interior security. “We could not get near them” without risking a NATO air attack, he said. The Benghazi-based task force also took charge of monitoring a small amount of radioactive materials, that could have been employed to make a radiological “dirty bomb.” Currently, a unit located in Waddan and comprised of U.S. and Libyan personnel is handling the chemical materials issues. Source: http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20111102_4020.php

Libya: Disarming Rebels To Take Months - Interim PM November 4, 2011

Disarming former Libyan rebels will take months, and the Libyan government will not use force to collect their weapons until the rebels can be offered alternatives, such as jobs, Libyan Interim Prime Minister Abdel-Rahim el-Keeb said Nov. 4, AP reported. El-Keeb said he hopes disarming the former Libyan rebels will be accomplished within his government’s eight-month transition.

Syria: Army Defectors Resume Operations November 5, 2011

Free Syrian Army (FSA) military operations against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces will continue and be expanded, according to the FSA commander, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported Nov. 5. FSA suspended operations Nov. 1 to give the Arab League initiative the chance to succeed, the commander stated. There was no coordination with Syrian National Council leadership, he said, but army defections increase daily and have surpassed 15,000. There is no security coordination with Turkey, he stated, adding that support is limited to humanitarian aid and security protection for the Syrian people.

Syria: 553 Prisoners Released November 5, 2011

In observance of Eid al-Adha, Syria released 553 prisoners detained during the country’s unrest, the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported Nov. 5. The move occurred after Damascus accepted an Arab League peace plan to end Syrian violence, Iran’s Press TV reported.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Prolonged Protests Challenge Colombian Stability
 
Mexico Security Memo: Gulf Faction Leader Arrested in Texas

Colombia: FARC Leader Injured In Attack November 4, 2011

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leader Alfonso Cano was wounded in a military attack in the department of Cauca on Nov. 4, El Nacional reported, citing Colombia’s W Radio. The Cauca military forces killed Cano’s girlfriend and nine members of his security staff in the operation, which was carried out in the towns of Suarez, Jambaló and Toribio. Forces also captured the commander of the FARC’s Sixth Front, Edgar Lopez, alias Pacho Chino, Colombia Reports reported.

Guatemala: Molina Elected President November 6, 2011

Patriot Party candidate Otto Perez Molina has won Guatemala’s presidential election according to preliminary results by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Prensa Libre reported Nov. 6. With 82.10 percent of the polling stations counted, Perez Molina has 55.46 percent of the vote, while Manuel Baldizon of the Democratic Freedom Revival party has 44.54 percent.

MISC

Intelligence Guidance: Europe's Debt Crisis

November 3, Drovers Cattle Network – (Texas) Water restrictions on 956 systems in Texas. Texas’ Senate Natural Resources Committee heard testimony the week of October 31 that 91 percent of the state is now facing extreme or exceptional drought, and 956 public water systems have imposed voluntary or mandatory restrictions on water use. One of the members of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said the commission lists 4,721 community water systems across Texas. He said 55 of those have prohibited all outside watering, and at least 23 systems are so low officials cannot determine the state of their water stocks, or believe they are within 180 days of drying up. The state tracks water levels at 109 of its 175 major water supply reservoirs and found that by the end of September, they were below 60 percent of capacity –- the lowest since 1978. Weather forecasts suggest a warmer and drier than normal winter for southwest states, which means a continuation of drought for most areas.Source: http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/latest/Restrictions-on-956-water- systems-in-Texas-133110233.html

Above the Tearline: Meeting Informants in Foreign Countries


Except where noted courtesy STRATFOR.COM.

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