Star Trek, A Piece of the Action
Kalo: [pointing a Tommy gun at Kirk. Spock & McCoy] Okay, you three, let's see you petrify.
Spock: Sir, would you mind explaining that statement, please?
Kalo: I want to see you turn to stone. Put your hands over your head, or you ain't going to have no head to put your hands over.
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USAExcept where noted courtesy www.stratfor.com
December 18, CNN – (International) California man charged with trying to sell military jet to Iran. Federal agents have arrested a California man who allegedly attempted to export a U.S. military fighter jet to Iran, authorities announced December 17. The arrest followed a 7-month government sting operation, authorities announced. The 35-year-old also was charged in a criminal complaint with two felony counts of attempting to export other aircraft parts and controlled technology. The man has agreed to plead guilty to the charges, according to an assistant U.S. attorney, who is prosecuting the case. According to unsealed court documents, the case began to unfold after “a cooperating defendant” in the operation introduced the suspect to an undercover agent. As part of the sting, the agent met with the man on several occasions at locations in California, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Budapest, Hungary, the court papers said. The documents said the man broached to an undercover agent the idea of obtaining an F-5B fighter jet from a source in California. He allegedly told the agent that the “Iranians” might be interested in the fighter jet and other items, and allegedly said he would not be concerned if the jet or the other items ended up in Iran. In July, the suspect allegedly sent a contract for the fighter jet to the undercover agent and demanded a $3.25 million purchase price. He was arrested in Delaware in July while negotiating plans to fly the aircraft from California to the East Coast, where it subsequently was to be crated and shipped to Hungary and eventually Iran, the documents stated. Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/17/california.iran.sting/?hpt=T2
December 16, KXXV 25 Waco – (Texas) 4 women accused of stealing background check information. Four Waco, Texas-area women were arrested December 16 on accusations they stole personal information from fingerprint applications. The four were indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft. One woman is also charged with six substantive aggravated identity theft counts; two of the others are also charged with one aggravated identity theft count. From March 2008 to July 2008, one of the accused was employed as a Live Scan Operator by Integrated Biometrics Technology in Waco, where applicants provide personal information, such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth. The suspect employee allegedly stole thousands of background check applications when she left the company, and the four women then used them to fraudulently obtain credit cards, open accounts, and purchase items throughout the country. Their hearings are scheduled for December 21 and if convicted, they each face up to 15 years in federal prison. Source: http://www.kxxv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13688249
December 16, Associated Press – (North Carolina) Soldier held in shooting at NC base; no injuries. Military officials said a soldier suspected in a shooting December 16 at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina in which no one was hurt has been caught. The base had been on lockdown while authorities searched for the suspect, but a base spokesman said that was no longer the case December 17. According to a news release from the base, the shooting was a domestic incident that happened around 8:45 p.m. A single gunshot was fired inside one of the base’s residences. The base said the incident involved a Fort Bragg soldier assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. The base said the suspect was later detained by Fort Bragg military authorities. The military did not release additional details. Source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/12/16/nc-base-lockdown-shots-fired-injuries/?test=latestnews
EUROPE
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
ASIA
Pakistan: U.S. UAV Activity In Tribal Region Moves North December 21, 2010
Intense U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) activity in Pakistan’s tribal region has moved northward as suspected militants try to flee the targeted air strikes, a senior Pakistani military official said Dec. 21, CNN reported. There has been an increased militant presence in Khyber agency, specifically in the Tirah Valley, the official said.
December 17, Associated Press – (International) Officials: CIA station chief pulled from Islamabad. The CIA has pulled its top spy out of Pakistan after terrorists threatened to kill him, current and former U.S. officials said, an unusual move for the United States and a complication on the front lines of the fight against al-Qaida. The CIA station chief was in transit December 16 after a Pakistani lawsuit earlier this month accused him of killing civilians in missile strikes. CIA airstrikes from unmanned aircraft have killed terrorist leaders, but have led to accusations in Pakistan that the strikes kill innocent people. The U.S. does not acknowledge the missile strikes, but there have been more than 100 such attacks this year — more than double the amount in 2009. Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j8-dDSHBIB-
RUSSIA
Russia: Unilateral Missile Defense Means Nuclear Buildup - Medvedev December 22, 2010
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has said that should missile defense be established unilaterally, “the other side…will build up its nuclear strike potential,” Interfax reported Dec. 22. He said Russian participation in a missile-defense system with NATO would be acceptable to Moscow. Otherwise, Russia and the United States will have to make difficult decisions, he said.
Belarus: 600 Sentenced Over Demonstration December 21, 2010
Approximately 600 participants of the Dec. 19 opposition rallies in Minsk, Belarus were sentenced to administrative arrest, Interfax reported Dec. 21. Most activists were sentenced to 5 to 15 days, Minsk Main Interior Affairs Department chief Leonid Farmagei said, adding, minors and those with two children were released as well as several foreign citizens, including journalists. The worse violators of the law faced trial, Farmagei stated.
Russia, India: Agreement On Fighter Design, Power Plant Signed December 21, 2010
Russia and India signed an agreement on Dec. 21 to design a fifth-generation fighter aircraft and to expand the capacity of Kudankulam nuclear power plant, Reuters reported. The two countries will build the third and fifth generating units for the power plant in Tamil Nadu in India’s south, according to a statement.
IRAN
Iran: Truckers Strike Following Fuel Price Hike December 21, 2010
Thousands of Iranian truck drivers began a second day of strikes Dec. 21 following a sharp increase in the price of diesel fuel, The Washington Post reported. At least half of all truck drivers in the country are currently on strike, and those who are working have increased transport fees by nearly 40 percent, according to a manager for a Tehran-based transportation company. Because of the new fuel price program, truck drivers now have to pay up to 21 times as much for diesel fuel than they previously did (every trucker can fill up their fuel tank once during the next month for the old price of $0.06 per gallon but will then have to pay $1.32 per gallon). The price of non-diesel fuel is also increasing, with a ceiling of $2.65 per gallon
Iran: Leading Cleric Rejects Statements About Music December 22, 2010
Iranian Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi on Dec. 22 rejected statements by a close aide of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that some senior religious figures have declared music haram because they do not understand it, DPA reported, citing ISNA. Shirazi said the statements were an insult to the religious leaders, and that presidential Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei would have been more sharply criticized if the political circumstances were not different. Rahim-Mashaei also had said that the Iranian clergy should recognize that the country’s society had changed and needed poetry and art, and not just prayer.
The Implications of Iranian Assertiveness Toward Pakistan | STRATFOR
IRAQ
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TOAfghanistan: Iran Border Blockade Continues December 21, 2010
Iran is blocking almost 2,000 fuel tankers from crossing the border into Afghanistan, saying the trucks would supply U.S.-led coalition troops, according to Afghan officials, the Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 21. The unannounced blockade is in its third week, and Afghan officials do not know when fuel imports will resume, Afghan Deputy Minister of Commerce Sharif Shairifi said. The Nimroz province customs chief said approximately 600 fuel tankers are idle on the Iranian border with Afghanistan’s southwestern Nimroz province, and similar backlogs have emerged on the borders of the western Herat and Farah provinces. Nimroz province has lost roughly $3.5 million in customs fees during the past two weeks, and Herat and Farah provinces have been equally affected.
REPORT
ISRAEL
Israel: New Anti-tank Missile Threat From Gaza December 21, 2010
Militants in Gaza used an advanced Russian-designed Kornet missile against an Israeli tank Dec. 6 and smuggled weaponry has improved Palestinian combat capabilities, Israeli military chief Gabi Ashkenazi said, Reuters reported Dec. 21. Ashkenazi’s comments came after an Israeli newspaper report that the Israeli Defense Forces planned to deploy an only tank battalion with a new missile shield outside of the Gaza Strip.
Israel: Missile Defense Tanks Deployed To Gaza Border December 22, 2010
The Israeli army will deploy tanks equipped with miniature missile defense systems to the Gaza border, unnamed Israeli defense officials said Dec. 22, AP reported. The move comes in response to alleged Palestinian use of Kornet tank-piercing missiles that, according to the officials, were provided by Iran. However, the officials offered no proof the missiles came from Iran.
AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan: Northern Provincial Governor Accused Of Incompetence December 22, 2010
The provincial council in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province accused the provincial governor of incompetence and demanded his resignation, council head Mohammad Rasul Mohseni said Dec. 22, Pajhwok reported. Gov. Monshi Abdul Majid’s orders lack credibility, and if he refuses to resign the provincial council will close, Mohseni said. Majid dismissed the comments as an individual’s opinion.
Afghanistan: Operation To Clear Eastern Province Begins December 21, 2010
Afghan and international forces began a weeklong operation to clear Baraki Barak district, Logar province, of Taliban militants, Pajhwok news agency reported Dec. 21. The operation will involve approximately 600 Afghan and NATO-led troops, the district chief said.
Afghanistan: 57 Private Security Companies Disbanded December 21, 2010
The Afghan government said on Dec. 21 that 57 private security companies have been shut down, AFP and AP reported. Interior Ministry adviser Abdul Manan Farahi said all illegal private security companies have been disbanded.
MIDDLE EAST
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
Above the Tearline: Mexican Cartels | STRATFOR
Mexican Drug Wars: Bloodiest Year to Date | STRATFOR
China: Brazilian Electricity Distribution Companies Purchased December 21, 2010
China’s state-owned State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) purchased seven electricity distribution companies in Brazil for an estimated $1 billion, Jornal do Brasil reported Dec. 21. SGCC also acquired a 30-year concession for energy exploration and other infrastructure projects in the southeast region of Brazil. According to the contract, Brazilian authorities can opt to renew the license for an additional 20 years.
MISC
Dispatch: Organized Crime vs. Terrorism | STRATFOR
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