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The News on October 30, 2006
Iran Expands Influence In Syria
Iran was said to have significantly expanded its influence in Syria and encouraging Alawis and Sunnis to convert to Shi'ite Islam.
Syrian opposition sources said the regime of President Bashar Assad has given Iran "carte blanche" in Syria. The sources said that unlike his late father, Bashar has allowed Iranian clerics to spread the Shi'ite religion in Syria.
"Syrians have been observing over the last year a dangerous phenomena mostly witnessed by an alarming number of non-Shia turning to Khomeini-style Shia in return for financial rewards," the opposition Reform Party of Syria said. "Whole villages and urban areas are adopting the Hizbullah model whereby clinics, schools, and social services are provided by Iran in return for Syrians to convert to Shi'ism."
In August 2006, RPS said, Iran opened two centers in the Syrian port of Latakiya. The organization said the centers, designed to teach Farsi, have been converting Sunni Muslims. ...menl
Russia Renews Arms Exports To Iran
Russia, bolstered by renewed sales to Iran, has emerged as a leading weapons supplier to the Middle East.
A congressional study said Russia has become a leading supplier to such countries as Algeria, Iran, Syria, Yemen and other countries regarded as developing. The Congressional Research Service said that in 2005 Moscow surpassed the United States in weapons sales to the developing world.
"Despite its lack of the larger traditional client base for armaments held by the United States and the major West European suppliers, Russia's successes in obtaining new arms orders suggests that Russia is likely to continue to be, for the short term at least, a significant leader in new arms agreements with developing nations," the report said.
The report, entitled "Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations 1998-2005," cited a $700 million deal by Russia to export the TOR-M1 short-range anti-aircraft battery to Iran. The deal called for the supply of 29 surface-to-air missile systems to the Iranian Air Force. ...menl
Egypt Moves 5,000 Troops Near Gaza Border
Egypt moved 5,000 more security forces near the Gaza Strip border on Saturday after an Israeli report said Israel may bomb tunnels used for smuggling weapons into Palestinian territories, an Egyptian official said.
"They requested reinforcements after the Israeli report and also citing fears of Palestinian militants breaching the border wall between the Gaza Strip and Egypt," the official told Reuters in Cairo.
The 5,000 Egyptians were members of the police's central security force. They joined about 750 border guards already deployed along the area known as the Philadelphi Corridor, fearing the possible operation's impact on civilians living on the Egyptian side of the border.
The Israeli daily newspaper Maariv reported on Friday that precision-guided weapons would be used to penetrate deep underground in the hope of destroying the tunnel network that the Jewish state says riddles the area, which is 14 km (8.6 miles) long and approximately 100 metres (330 feet) wide.
The decision to use "smart" bombs may be a substitute to reoccupying the entire region, the newspaper said. Israel says it has been unable to control weapons smuggling into Gaza since it withdrew its forces from the coastal strip last year. ...reuters
Israelis Put Nuclear Bunkers in Gardens
Amid mounting fears that Iran is planning to obliterate their country, wealthy Israelis are shelling out on underground nuclear shelters in the gardens of their luxury homes.
The shelters, which cost at least £60,000 for a bargain-basement version, are built to withstand radioactive fallout, have fortified walls and doors and generate their own electricity and decontaminated air. Defence experts estimate that hundreds of such bunkers, many fitted with all modern conveniences such as bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms, have already been built in private homes across the country and demand is soaring.
Zaki Rakib, a wealthy businessman, built a shelter for himself and his family under his large villa overlooking the Mediterranean in Herzliya, an exclusive garden suburb north of Tel Aviv. ...timesonline.co.uk
Britons 'Could be Microchipped Like Dogs in a Decade'
Human beings may be forced to be 'microchipped' like pet dogs, a shocking official report into the rise of the Big Brother state has warned.
The microchips - which are implanted under the skin - allow the wearer's movements to be tracked and store personal information about them.
They could be used by companies who want to keep tabs on an employee's movements or by Governments who want a foolproof way of identifying their citizens - and storing information about them.
The prospect of 'chip-citizens' - with its terrifying echoes of George Orwell's 'Big Brother' police state in the book 1984 - was raised in an official report for Britain's Information Commissioner Richard Thomas into the spread of surveillance technology.
The report, drawn up by a team of respected academics, claims that Britain is a world-leader in the use of surveillance technology and its citizens the most spied-upon in the free world.
It paints a frightening picture of what Britain might be like in ten years time unless steps are taken to regulate the use of CCTV and other spy technologies.
The reports editors Dr David Murakami Wood, managing editor of the journal Surveillance and Society and Dr Kirstie Ball, an Open University lecturer in Organisation Studies, claim that by 2016 our almost every movement, purchase and communication could be monitored by a complex network of interlinking surveillance technologies. ...dailymail.co.uk
St. Louis Named Most Dangerous U.S. City
A surge in violence made St. Louis the most dangerous city in the country, leading a trend of violent crimes rising much faster in the Midwest than in the rest of nation, according to an annual list.
The city has long fared poorly in the rankings of the safest and most dangerous American cities compiled by Morgan Quitno Press. Violent crime surged nearly 20 percent in St. Louis from 2004 to last year, when the rate of such crimes rose most dramatically in the Midwest, according to FBI figures released in June.
"It's just sad the way this city is," resident Sam Dawson said. "On the news you hear killings, someone's been shot."
The ranking, being released Monday, came as the city was still celebrating Friday's World Series victory at the new Busch Stadium. St. Louis has been spending millions of dollars on urban renewal even as the crime rate climbs. ...cnn
School Safety Drill Upsets Some Parents
A school safety drill that included police officers in riot gear with weapons has caused concern among some parents who say it was too realistic and frightened some students.
Police in the western Michigan community of Wyoming entered two classrooms at Lee Middle and High School on Thursday and announced there was a threat to the school, The Grand Rapids Press reported.
Students, who were unaware police were conducting a drill, were taken from the classroom into the halls, patted down by officers and asked what they had in their pockets, the newspaper said.
"Some of these kids were so scared, they just about wet their pants," said Marge Bradshaw, a parent with four children in Godfrey-Lee Schools. "I think it's pure wrong that the students and parents were not informed of this."
Officers wore protective gear, including vests and helmets, and carried rifles that were unloaded and marked with colored tape to indicate they were not live weapons, the newspaper said.
Diana Silva, a parent of an eighth-grade student, said the drill went too far. ...ap
Iran Expands Influence In Syria
Iran was said to have significantly expanded its influence in Syria and encouraging Alawis and Sunnis to convert to Shi'ite Islam.
Syrian opposition sources said the regime of President Bashar Assad has given Iran "carte blanche" in Syria. The sources said that unlike his late father, Bashar has allowed Iranian clerics to spread the Shi'ite religion in Syria.
"Syrians have been observing over the last year a dangerous phenomena mostly witnessed by an alarming number of non-Shia turning to Khomeini-style Shia in return for financial rewards," the opposition Reform Party of Syria said. "Whole villages and urban areas are adopting the Hizbullah model whereby clinics, schools, and social services are provided by Iran in return for Syrians to convert to Shi'ism."
In August 2006, RPS said, Iran opened two centers in the Syrian port of Latakiya. The organization said the centers, designed to teach Farsi, have been converting Sunni Muslims. ...menl
Russia Renews Arms Exports To Iran
Russia, bolstered by renewed sales to Iran, has emerged as a leading weapons supplier to the Middle East.
A congressional study said Russia has become a leading supplier to such countries as Algeria, Iran, Syria, Yemen and other countries regarded as developing. The Congressional Research Service said that in 2005 Moscow surpassed the United States in weapons sales to the developing world.
"Despite its lack of the larger traditional client base for armaments held by the United States and the major West European suppliers, Russia's successes in obtaining new arms orders suggests that Russia is likely to continue to be, for the short term at least, a significant leader in new arms agreements with developing nations," the report said.
The report, entitled "Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations 1998-2005," cited a $700 million deal by Russia to export the TOR-M1 short-range anti-aircraft battery to Iran. The deal called for the supply of 29 surface-to-air missile systems to the Iranian Air Force. ...menl
Egypt Moves 5,000 Troops Near Gaza Border
Egypt moved 5,000 more security forces near the Gaza Strip border on Saturday after an Israeli report said Israel may bomb tunnels used for smuggling weapons into Palestinian territories, an Egyptian official said.
"They requested reinforcements after the Israeli report and also citing fears of Palestinian militants breaching the border wall between the Gaza Strip and Egypt," the official told Reuters in Cairo.
The 5,000 Egyptians were members of the police's central security force. They joined about 750 border guards already deployed along the area known as the Philadelphi Corridor, fearing the possible operation's impact on civilians living on the Egyptian side of the border.
The Israeli daily newspaper Maariv reported on Friday that precision-guided weapons would be used to penetrate deep underground in the hope of destroying the tunnel network that the Jewish state says riddles the area, which is 14 km (8.6 miles) long and approximately 100 metres (330 feet) wide.
The decision to use "smart" bombs may be a substitute to reoccupying the entire region, the newspaper said. Israel says it has been unable to control weapons smuggling into Gaza since it withdrew its forces from the coastal strip last year. ...reuters
Israelis Put Nuclear Bunkers in Gardens
Amid mounting fears that Iran is planning to obliterate their country, wealthy Israelis are shelling out on underground nuclear shelters in the gardens of their luxury homes.
The shelters, which cost at least £60,000 for a bargain-basement version, are built to withstand radioactive fallout, have fortified walls and doors and generate their own electricity and decontaminated air. Defence experts estimate that hundreds of such bunkers, many fitted with all modern conveniences such as bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms, have already been built in private homes across the country and demand is soaring.
Zaki Rakib, a wealthy businessman, built a shelter for himself and his family under his large villa overlooking the Mediterranean in Herzliya, an exclusive garden suburb north of Tel Aviv. ...timesonline.co.uk
Britons 'Could be Microchipped Like Dogs in a Decade'
Human beings may be forced to be 'microchipped' like pet dogs, a shocking official report into the rise of the Big Brother state has warned.
The microchips - which are implanted under the skin - allow the wearer's movements to be tracked and store personal information about them.
They could be used by companies who want to keep tabs on an employee's movements or by Governments who want a foolproof way of identifying their citizens - and storing information about them.
The prospect of 'chip-citizens' - with its terrifying echoes of George Orwell's 'Big Brother' police state in the book 1984 - was raised in an official report for Britain's Information Commissioner Richard Thomas into the spread of surveillance technology.
The report, drawn up by a team of respected academics, claims that Britain is a world-leader in the use of surveillance technology and its citizens the most spied-upon in the free world.
It paints a frightening picture of what Britain might be like in ten years time unless steps are taken to regulate the use of CCTV and other spy technologies.
The reports editors Dr David Murakami Wood, managing editor of the journal Surveillance and Society and Dr Kirstie Ball, an Open University lecturer in Organisation Studies, claim that by 2016 our almost every movement, purchase and communication could be monitored by a complex network of interlinking surveillance technologies. ...dailymail.co.uk
St. Louis Named Most Dangerous U.S. City
A surge in violence made St. Louis the most dangerous city in the country, leading a trend of violent crimes rising much faster in the Midwest than in the rest of nation, according to an annual list.
The city has long fared poorly in the rankings of the safest and most dangerous American cities compiled by Morgan Quitno Press. Violent crime surged nearly 20 percent in St. Louis from 2004 to last year, when the rate of such crimes rose most dramatically in the Midwest, according to FBI figures released in June.
"It's just sad the way this city is," resident Sam Dawson said. "On the news you hear killings, someone's been shot."
The ranking, being released Monday, came as the city was still celebrating Friday's World Series victory at the new Busch Stadium. St. Louis has been spending millions of dollars on urban renewal even as the crime rate climbs. ...cnn
School Safety Drill Upsets Some Parents
A school safety drill that included police officers in riot gear with weapons has caused concern among some parents who say it was too realistic and frightened some students.
Police in the western Michigan community of Wyoming entered two classrooms at Lee Middle and High School on Thursday and announced there was a threat to the school, The Grand Rapids Press reported.
Students, who were unaware police were conducting a drill, were taken from the classroom into the halls, patted down by officers and asked what they had in their pockets, the newspaper said.
"Some of these kids were so scared, they just about wet their pants," said Marge Bradshaw, a parent with four children in Godfrey-Lee Schools. "I think it's pure wrong that the students and parents were not informed of this."
Officers wore protective gear, including vests and helmets, and carried rifles that were unloaded and marked with colored tape to indicate they were not live weapons, the newspaper said.
Diana Silva, a parent of an eighth-grade student, said the drill went too far. ...ap
