Tux of Borg

Storming of Romanian Oil Rig Continues Iran's Provocative Actions By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross Iran seized a Romanian oil rig off Kish Island. On August 22, a few hours before Iran delivered its response to the UN about its nuclear program, an Iranian warship fired on a Romanian oil rig and seized it. The New York Sun reports: An Iranian naval vessel fired on the rig, named Orizont, owned by Grup Servicii Petroliere in Iran's offshore Salman field and took control of its radio room at about 7 a.m. local time, Grup's representative in the United Arab Emirates, Lulu Tabanesku, said in a phone interview from Dubai yesterday. "The Iranians fired at the rig's crane with machine guns," Mr. Tabanesku said. "They are in control now, and we can't contact the rig." The Romanian company has 26 workers on the platform, he said. Although the Romanians are working to defuse the situation and have reportedly agreed that the incident was "of a commercial nature," there is much more to the seizure than that. Iran has engaged in a number of provocative moves lately, and this incident must be seen as part of a broader picture. Iran has been Hizballah's major sponsor for decades, and its fingerprints were all over the flare-up in Lebanon between Hizballah and Israel. Over this past weekend, Iran kicked off a masive five-week military exercise designed to showcase its capabilities. It has been reported that "[a]ssault and transport helicopters, parachutists, electronic war units and special forces are participating in the initial manoeuvre." And a fourth provocative action occurred Monday, when Iran denied IAEA inspectors access to an underground facility at Natanz designed to shelter its uranium enrichment program from attack. This comes on top of other signs of Iranian defiance over its nuclear program, including denying entry visas to two IAEA inspectors and issuing several inspectors single-entry visas rather than the customary multiple-entry visas. One clear purpose behind Iran's seizure of the Romanian rig was a show of force. Heinrich Matthee, Iran analyst for London's Control Risk Group, has noted that storming the rig "sends a message that Iran can project its power and could interfere in oil production." But there is also a gamesmanship aspect to Iran's actions. With each defiant move that Iran has made, Western countries have done little or nothing to push back. As Iran is not held accountable for such actions as backing Hizballah in its war against Israel and denying IAEA inspectors access to key nuclear sites, it comes to believe -- with reason -- that it will have more leeway in the way it operates in the future. If there is no real repercussion to Iran's seizure of the Romanian rig, then Iran will have further expanded the boundaries for its future actions. Western countries have no apparent strategy for dealing with Iran at this point, but the question of how to begin pushing back in response to these provocative actions is a critical one.

'Canes' Moore suspended indefinitely CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Miami wide receiver Ryan Moore has been suspended indefinitely for violation of an unspecified team policy, Hurricanes coach Larry Coker said Saturday. Moore was suspended for the team's season-ending Peach Bowl appearance last season, then suspended again for the first two games of this year because of previous violations of team rules. "Not that he won't return, but pending some action, I have made that suspension due to a violation of team policy," Coker said. "And we'll see as this thing progresses." Moore, a senior, started nine games last season and caught 28 passes for 464 yards and four touchdowns. Coker said he will re-evaluate Moore's status and may reinstate him later in the season. "It is disappointing any time that you have to suspend a player, not really for me, but for him for than anything," Coker said. "You hate to see a player miss anything." Coker suspended three other players, including projected starting running back Tyrone Moss, earlier this summer because of other team rule violations. The 12th-ranked Hurricanes open the year Sept. 4 at home against No. 11 Florida State.

Anyone see Iron Mike in the crowd. Griffin looked poised last night while Bonnar was all over the place. Liddell kicked some ass. (no surprise there) Shamrock is going to get his ass kicked, again.

So who has the better 40 time... Leinart or Bledsoe?

My Webpage UM's Coker ignores 'firing line' fodder With the ink barely dry from his extension last fall, Miami coach Larry Coker is already hearing groans from Hurricane Nation. CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Larry Coker's five-year body of work as coach of the Miami Hurricanes is something to truly behold, with a 53-9 record, three trips to the Bowl Championship Series, two appearances in the national title game and one undefeated season. Yet even with a resume like that, Coker just may be facing serious pressure to perform in 2006. His Hurricanes are coming off consecutive 9-3 seasons, didn't win the Atlantic Coast Conference title in either of those years and ended 2005 with the most dismal showing of his tenure -- a 40-3 embarrassment of a loss to LSU in the Peach Bowl, a game that marked the end for four Miami assistants, fired 32 hours later. Although it's a ridiculous notion to many around the Miami program, there is a sense that if Coker doesn't get the Hurricanes into this year's national-title hunt -- they've finished outside the top 10 in the AP college football poll each of the past two years, and open this season No. 12 -- his job could be in some jeopardy, too. "Should he be on the hot seat? He probably shouldn't be, no," said Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, whose Seminoles visit Miami in the season-opener on Sept. 4. "But's he going to be. That's the nature." See, at many schools, 9-3 seasons are embraced as great. But at Miami, 9-3 usually isn't good enough -- and Coker not only acknowledges that sort of thinking exists in Coral Gables, he welcomes it. "We're going to compete to win every game," said Coker, who received a five-year contract extension worth a reported $8 million last fall. "I really haven't thought about whether I'm on the firing line or not on the firing line. I'm just making decisions, coaching, preparing, trying to win. ... There are a lot of naysayers in football and you can't let them get you down." The Hurricanes know there's only one sure-fire way to silence those naysayers, too. Internal expectations are always high for a Miami team, and this year is no exception. With 13 starters back, a strong-armed quarterback in Kyle Wright believing he's primed for a big year, a star tight end in Greg Olsen and a defense that could rank among the nation's best, there's plenty of reason for the Hurricanes to be confident. "Going 9-3 is not what we work for at Miami," said Wright, who threw for 2,403 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, his first as the full-time starter. "We're not satisfied with that one bit. We know we have to play better. But no matter what you do, unless it all goes right at Miami, people are going to criticize you." That's the way it's always been around the Hurricane program, and the way it probably always will be. "Miami has just been spoiled in the past, especially the last five or six years," said former Miami center Brett Romberg, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars. "Anything less than a perfect season is kind of considered a failure. ... Hopefully, Coker's not on the hot seat. I know what he is. Hopefully, they give him a chance to prove himself with the recruiting classes he brought in the last couple of years." New offensive coordinator Rich Olson -- part of the revamped staff that Coker built after making the decision to fire offensive line coach Art Kehoe, offensive coordinator Dan Werner, linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves and running backs coach Don Soldinger on Jan. 2 -- was brought back to Miami (he coached under Dennis Erickson with the Hurricanes in the early 1990s) to restore the big-play threats that have been missing the past two seasons. "I'm as confident as I've ever been going into a season," Wright said. The defense has its customary swagger heading into the year as well. With a big, experienced defensive line, an airtight secondary led by safeties Brandon Meriweather and Kenny Phillips, and a talented linebacking corps, the Hurricanes could be every bit as good -- or better -- than the defense that allowed 10 opponents to 17 points or less last season. And to hear linebacker Jon Beason say it, the Hurricanes may not be too far away from a return to glory. "We lose by three points to Florida State, four points to Georgia Tech, two teams that came in, played hard and pulled off the victory," Beason said. "Now, do we think they're better than us? No. But it happened. And you've got to give them all the credit. We were seven points away from being undefeated after that Georgia Tech game ... and being back where we should be, a BCS game _ at worst." Apparently, those around the league still agree with Beason in that Miami should be a BCS team. Even after the offseason of upheaval, the Hurricanes are the popular pick to finally break through and win the ACC crown; they held the top spot in the league's preseason poll by a solid margin. "Our players expect to win every game. They come to Miami to win a national championship, to win a conference championship, to go to the NFL," Coker said. "That's what they're there for. Their expectations and my expectations are higher than what some fan's would be."

Tokyo Drift comes out on DVD Sept 28th!

My Webpage NFL bust Leaf now D-II QB coach at West Texas A&M CANYON, Texas (AP) -- Ryan Leaf's eyes are bloodshot and his hair is matted down the day after putting in 17 hours of work. The new quarterbacks coach at West Texas A&M sets aside his Styrofoam tobacco spit cup and pauses to check the upcoming schedule. It'll be another long day all right, with practice, meetings and plenty of time stuck in his cramped office. Leaf estimates he spends at least 70 hours a week in his new job at this Division II school -- all for no paycheck. Yes, this hardworking volunteer coach is the same Ryan Leaf who was supposed to take the NFL by storm but instead just stormed around. The same guy who was taken second in the 1998 draft, behind only Peyton Manning, then retired after four seasons best remembered for dreadful play, injuries and clashes with coaches, teammates, reporters and fans. So, how exactly did he end up here, at a campus much closer to Amarillo than the Rose Bowl or NFL stardom? And what's he doing teaching kids? "I think the failure in the NFL has humbled me in the fact that I don't think I'm the best," Leaf said. "I think I have some knowledge that can help." Leaf's unlikely journey to Canyon began in late 2003, when his post-football life had hit rock bottom. He was unhappy in his 9-to-5 financial consulting job, which threw him into such an unhealthy, inactive rut that he ballooned to about 50 pounds over his playing weight, or "close to three bills." He rarely left his house and, even when he did, didn't feel comfortable in the city where he blundered most. "The people in San Diego did not move on," said Leaf, who was booed and benched regularly while losing 14 of 18 starts with the Chargers. "They would never say anything to my face. It was always behind my back, or little punches in the paper." While he was eager for distance from his NFL past, in November 2003 he realized how much he missed college football. He called his former coach at Washington State, Mike Price, and they devised a plan to get him back into the game. Leaf started by going back to college at WSU and finishing his degree. Price, now the coach at Texas-El Paso, encouraged Leaf to apply at West Texas A&M and recommended that coach Don Carthel give him the job. "We all know, just as Ryan knows, that he messed up when he was younger," Carthel said. "But in the right environment, Ryan Leaf can use his good qualities and really help somebody achieve some great things. That's the Ryan Leaf that we're all looking for." The quarterbacks he would coach didn't know what to think when he arrived in February. "I was wondering who found him and where he was and how they got ahold of him and got him here," backup Keith Null said. Starter Dalton Bell said "never in a thousand years would I have thought he'd be my quarterbacks coach." Having seen Leaf's infamous meltdowns on television, he thought, "Man, maybe this guy could be a jerk." "But," Bell said, "he's a really good guy." And a decent coach, too. Bell and Null said Leaf immediately improved their fundamental throwing motion and helped with their timing, pocket presence and reading defenses. It's not like those things were terrible before. West Texas A&M led Division II in passing offense last year by averaging 364 yards and 40 points per game, prompting Baylor to hire away the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. That opened the job Leaf filled. Bell said Leaf has plenty of patience and advice. He said Leaf told him: "Any time you're feeling down and out, you can come to me because I've probably been there." Leaf saw the best of football as an often unstoppable quarterback for Washington State in 1997, averaging 331 yards a game and leading the Cougars to their first Rose Bowl since 1931. He finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting, then became part of a debate over whether he or Manning should be drafted No. 1. Time has proven the Colts made the right choice. The Chargers had an inkling they'd made the wrong one at No. 2 by Leaf's third game, when he was 1-of-15 for 4 yards with three fumbles and two interceptions in a loss at Kansas City. The next day, Leaf went on an obscenity-laced outburst toward a reporter who had written about an obscenity-laced outburst from Leaf the day before. That videotaped meltdown is still a staple of sports shows. By the time San Diego cut him after his third season, Leaf's woes included a cursing tirade toward general manager Bobby Beathard, a missed season with a shoulder injury and a confrontation with a heckling fan. He finished his career with Tampa Bay and Dallas, winding up with career totals of 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. "It was the worst five or six years of my life, but I wouldn't be the person I am now without going through it," Leaf said. "I don't feel bad for myself. I don't pout about it. "It's so over. I don't even think about it at all. Everybody's got some things that have happened bad in their past. Mine was just very public." Some Web sites continue to joyfully chronicle his fall, and he's a regular on "biggest draft bust" lists. He says it doesn't bother him, although he doesn't consider himself the biggest bust. "So if you come in the league and you're a backup and never start a game for 15 years, do you have a successful career?" he wondered. "I started. I started in the NFL. But if you didn't play a down, is that successful? I played. I tried." Trimmed back to 245 pounds, the divorced 30-year-old Leaf is now content in his little office with mostly barren white walls and stained burgundy carpet. He doesn't even seem to mind his banged-up wooden desk or a goofy setup that forces him to plug his laptop into the opposite wall, leaving a black cord hovering awkwardly over his lap. "There's no pay and it's work, but I like what I'm doing," he said. "Collegiate football with me was the greatest time in my life, and that's why I'm doing what I'm doing." And if this coaching thing really takes off, could he one day return to the pros? "I don't want to coach in the NFL," he said. "I don't want to be anywhere near the NFL."

Link Notre Dame investigating possible NCAA violations Charlie Weis is letting the compliance department determine if any rules were violated. AP SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Notre Dame is looking into whether student-athletes, including football and basketball players, violated NCAA rules with comments promoting a local sports talk show on the CBS affiliate here. John Heisler, Notre Dame's senior associate athletic director, said Saturday he became aware of possible violations when contacted Friday afternoon by a reporter for The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne. Heisler said the school has not seen the spots, promoting "Sports Dogz" on WSBT-TV, so it does not know if it violates NCAA rules. "We're just trying to figure out what this is," he said. "I don't know if we know for sure it's an NCAA violation." Telephone messages were left Saturday on cell phones for two NCAA spokesmen by The Associated Press. Jennifer Kearns, an associate director of public and media relations with the NCAA, told The Journal Gazette that in past situations when a student-athlete did not know they were breaking an NCAA rule it had been deemed as a secondary violation. Heisler said school officials would ask WSBT-TV to provide copies of the promotions. Last year USC quarterback Matt Leinart had his eligibility temporarily revoked after appearing in a promotional segment on ESPN. Leinart was reinstated after Southern California petitioned the NCAA. The NCAA said Leinart's actions were "unintentional and inadvertent." Coach Charlie Weis said Saturday that the television spots by the Notre Dame players might be different because the comments weren't used as promotions outside of the program. "This is something run during the show, so it's a totally different," he said. Weis said he is depending on Notre Dame's compliance officer to determine whether any rules were violated. "I'll just let them go ahead and deal with it," he said. "But I feel it will be taken care of very quickly."

Jesus, when did we become a nation of such pussies. Don't worry, she's a lawyer....

Like it matters, on Aug 22nd Iran is going to nuke Israel. ....so I've been told by a man wearing a tin-foil hat.

The warrantless wiretap program will never be abandoned. If it is as valuable as the intel officials claim, then they will find a loop hole to keep it around. Is this really any different than echelon.

Chris Leak has been one of the biggest disappointments in college football. He was one of the highest recruited QBs out of highschool. Now there is speculation that he might not even be the starter this season.

Time for Velvet Revolver to come out with a new CD.

Reggie Bush vs Vince Young.... Tonight!

Police Eye Money Trail in Airliner Plot Aug 11 6:10 PM US/Eastern By JENNIFER QUINN and PAUL HAVEN Associated Press Writers LONDON Investigators on three continents worked to fill in the full, frightening picture Friday of a plot to blow U.S. jetliners out of the Atlantic skies, tracking the money trail and seizing more alleged conspirators in the teeming towns of eastern Pakistan. One arrested there, a Briton named Rashid Rauf, appears to have been the operational planner and is believed to have connections to al- Qaida in Afghanistan, Pakistani and U.S. officials said. British and Pakistani authorities have arrested as many as 41 people in the two countries in connection with the alleged suicidal plan, broken up by British police this week, to detonate disguised liquid explosives aboard as many as 10 planes bound from Britain to the United States. "The terrorists intended a second Sept. 11," said Frances Fragos Townsend, White House homeland security adviser. New information underlined how close they were to mounting attacks. After the first arrests in Pakistan some days ago, word went from Pakistan to the London plotters to move ahead quickly, a message intercepted by an intelligence agency, a U.S. official disclosed, on condition of anonymity. That prompted British police to move in on the conspirators, long under watch. British Home Secretary John Reid told reporters officials were confident the main suspects in the plot were in custody. But authorities "would go where any further evidence takes us," he said. The British government released the names of 19 of the 24 arrested in Britain _ many apparently British Muslims of Pakistani ancestry _ and froze their assets. One of the 24 detainees later was freed. The record of financial transactions, along with telephone and computer records, may help investigators trace more people in the alleged plot. "Think of it as a river _ you look upstream to find the source, and downstream to find out where the money is going," said Cliff Knuckey, former chief money laundering investigator for Scotland Yard. American authorities were looking for any U.S. links in the conspiracy. Hundreds of FBI agents checked possible leads the past few weeks, but the homeland security secretary said Friday nothing significant had emerged. "Currently, we do not have evidence that there was, as part of this plot, any plan to initiate activity inside the United States or that the plotting was done in the United States," Michael Chertoff said. Britain kept its threat assessment level at "critical," indicative of an imminent attack. Extraordinary security measures continued at British airports, although the backlog of passengers eased from Thursday's chaotic conditions, when hundreds of flights were canceled. At Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, around 70 percent of flights operated Friday, but many people turned around and headed home after an announcement that a raft of flights had been canceled, including British Airways services to San Francisco and Los Angeles. At U.S. airports, airlines were recruiting more baggage handlers as U.S. travelers _ facing new rules banning almost all liquids from carry-on luggage _ adapted by checking bags they normally would have carried aboard. American passengers faced a second level of security checks starting Friday, with random bag searches at boarding gates. The alleged terrorists were planning to assemble their bombs aboard the aircraft, apparently with a peroxide-based solution disguised as beverages or other harmless-seeming items, and using such electronic equipment as a disposable camera or a music player as a detonator, two U.S. law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. A U.S. intelligence official said they planned to deploy a couple of attackers per plane, and the two dozen plotters didn't all know one another _ a typical security measure in terror groups. London's Evening Standard reported the plotters apparently chose next Wednesday as a target date, since they had tickets for a United Airlines flight that day, as well as ones for this Friday, apparently a test-run to see whether they could smuggle chemicals aboard in soft- drink containers. The paper didn't report the flight's destination, but United has flights from Heathrow to New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. The British say their inquiry began months ago _ prompted by a tip from within the British Muslim community after the bloody July 7, terror bombings of the London transit system, The Washington Post reported. There were signs preparations stepped up recently. One of the houses raided by British police this week had been bought last month by two men in an all-cash deal, in a neighborhood of $300,000 houses, neighbors reported. Pakistani officials said British information led to the first arrests in Pakistan about a week ago, of two British nationals, including Rauf, called a "key person" by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. Pakistan's interior minister, Aftab Khan Sherpao, said Rauf has ties with al-Qaida and was apprehended in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area. The Foreign Ministry in Islamabad spoke of "indications" of a link between Rauf and al-Qaida in Afghanistan. On an unspecified date, Pakistani authorities also arrested five Pakistanis as alleged `facilitators" for the Britons in the major cities of Lahore and Karachi. An intelligence official in Islamabad said 10 other Pakistanis had been arrested Friday in the district of Bhawalpur, about 300 miles south of Islamabad near the Indian border. Pakistan is both a key U.S.-British ally in the antiterror campaign, and a hotbed of Islamic radicalism and likely hiding place for al- Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. "I am 120 percent convinced there's a link" with al-Qaida, Louis Caprioli, a former top French counterintelligence official, said of the trans-Atlantic bombing plot. "Was it al-Qaida who contacted them, or vice versa? Only the investigation will be able to tell." Scotland Yard didn't identify the lone detainee released Friday from among 24 arrested in London, its eastern suburb of High Wycombe and the central city of Birmingham. The 19 identified ranged in age from 17 to 35, had Muslim names and appeared to be of Pakistani descent, although many were born and all reared in Britain. One not on the list of 19 names was believed to be a young woman in her 20s with a 6-month-old baby. At least three people among the suspects were converts to Islam. It was unclear how the alleged plotters met, or who the ringleader was, although suspicion fell on the only one identified who is over 30 _ Shamin Mohammed Uddin, 35, of east London. A teenage neighbor of suspect Assad Sarwar, 26, who lived with his parents in High Wycombe, said Sarwar had become increasingly strident after the London transit bombings, in which four suicide bombers killed 52 other people. "He started talking about terrorism and acting like it's OK to blow up people," said Nawaz Chaudhry, 17. At least one "martyrdom" tape, the type left by suicide bombers, was found in the British raids, a U.S. law enforcement official said. Under Britain's toughened antiterrorism laws, suspects can be held for up to 28 days without charge. On Friday, detention orders for 22 suspects were extended through Wednesday. The 23rd suspect, still in custody, will have a detention extension hearing Monday.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/67732-print.shtml Operation ‘may not have been completely thwarted’ August 11 2006 THE plot to blow up transatlantic passenger jets was in the final stages of planning and "quite close to the execution phase", Michael Chertoff, the US Homeland Security Secretary, said last night. "We believe the arrests in Britain have significantly disrupted this major threat, but we cannot assume it has been completely thwarted or that we have fully identified and neutralized every member of this terrorist network," he added. Britain's intelligence agencies had been working on the case for several months, though it only became apparent in the past few weeks that the targets were to be flights to the US. A senior government official said: "Pakistan actively co-operated to make this happen." Arrests were made in Pakistan a few days ago. The UK surveillance operation involved a massive amount of MI5 and Special Branch resources, plus electronic input by GCHQ and the scanners sifting phone calls from the ether at RAF Menwith Hill in Yorkshire, a site run by the US National Security Agency. Analysts watch for calls from "tagged" numbers held by suspected militants and anyone they contact subsequently. The frequency of calls activity is often a prime indicator of a terrorist operation. Government spokesmen on both sides of the Atlantic refer to it as "background chatter". When it spikes, then stops or slows suddenly, alarm bells ring. That happened just before September 11, though no-one knew the significance, and before the Bali and Madrid attacks. Mr Chertoff said: "This group in the UK was not … a handful of people sitting round coming up with dreamy ideas about terrorist plots. "The conception, the large number of people involved, the sophisticated design of the devices being considered and the sophisticated nature of the plan itself, all suggest that this group was very determined, very skilled and very capable." The homegrown terrorist threat to Britain has grown since the World Trade Center attacks in 2001 from 250 suspects to about 1000 "primary investigative targets", stretching MI5 and Special Branch.

Russia denies sending anti-tank weapons to Hizbollah - ministry 20:56 | 10/ 08/ 2006 http://rian.ru MOSCOW, August 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has been supplying no modern anti-tank weapons to Lebanon-based radical group Hizbollah, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday, denying Israeli media reports. Israel's Haaretz daily quoted intelligence sources Sunday as saying that Israel's ground troops casualties mostly resulted from special anti-tank units of Hizbollah using modern Russian-made RPG-29 that had been sold by Moscow to the Syrians and then transferred to the organization. "Such insinuations are a source of bewilderment in Moscow, to say the least," Mikhail Kamynin said. "If there are any questions raised, they can be addressed through normal diplomatic channels. So far we have had no such inquiries, and no proof has been presented." Kamynin said Russia honored its international obligations. "We have repeatedly said that Russia keeps to its international obligations in military and technical cooperation, including with the Middle East countries," he said. The spokesman added that Russia's control over weapons exports was very reliable. "Our control system over weapons exports is one of the most reliable and makes any inaccuracy in weapons destination impossible," Kamynin said. "We also take into consideration the military and political tension in the Middle East that requires a weighed and verified approach to such issues."

Reggie Bush is the only person Chuck Norris can't catch.

Sunday Times Iran's plot to mine uranium in Africa IRAN is seeking to import large consignments of bomb-making uranium from the African mining area that produced the Hiroshima bomb, an investigation has revealed. A United Nations report, dated July 18, said there was “no doubt” that a huge shipment of smuggled uranium 238, uncovered by customs officials in Tanzania, was transported from the Lubumbashi mines in the Congo. Tanzanian customs officials told The Sunday Times it was destined for the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, and was stopped on October 22 last year during a routine check. The disclosure will heighten western fears about the extent of Iran’s presumed nuclear weapons programme and the strategic implications of Iran’s continuing support for Hezbollah during the war with Israel. It has also emerged that terror cells backed by Iran may be prepared to mount attacks against nuclear power plants in Britain. Intelligence circulating in Whitehall suggests that sleeper cells linked to Tehran have been conducting reconnaissance at some nuclear sites in preparation for a possible attack. The parliamentary intelligence and security committee has reported that Iran represented one of the three biggest security threats to Britain. The UN security council has given Iran until the end of this month to halt its uranium enrichment activities. The UN has threatened sanctions if Tehran fails to do so. A senior Tanzanian customs official said the illicit uranium shipment was found hidden in a consignment of coltan, a rare mineral used to make chips in mobile telephones. The shipment was destined for smelting in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, delivered via Bandar Abbas, Iran’s biggest port. “There were several containers due to be shipped and they were all routinely scanned with a Geiger counter,” the official said. “This one was very radioactive. When we opened the container it was full of drums of coltan. Each drum contains about 50kg of ore. When the first and second rows were removed,the ones after that were found to be drums of uranium.” In a nuclear reactor, uranium 238 can be used to breed plutonium used in nuclear weapons. The customs officer, who spoke to The Sunday Times on condition he was not named, added: “The container was put in a secure part of the port and it was later taken away, by the Americans, I think, or at least with their help. We have all been told not to talk to anyone about this.” The report by the UN investigation team was submitted to the chairman of the UN sanctions committee, Oswaldo de Rivero, at the end of July and will be considered soon by the security council. It states that Tanzania provided “limited data” on three other shipments of radioactive materials seized in Dar es Salaam over the past 10 years. The experts said: “In reference to the last shipment from October 2005, the Tanzanian government left no doubt that the uranium was transported from Lubumbashi by road through Zambia to the united republic of Tanzania.” Lubumbashi is the capital of mineral-rich Katanga province, home of the Shinkolobwe uranium mine that produced material for the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The mine has officially been closed since 1961, before the country’s independence from Belgium, but the UN investigators have told the security council that they found evidence of illegal mining still going on at the site. In 1999 there were reports that the Congolese authorities had tried to re-open the mine with the help of North Korea. In recent years miners are said to have broken open the lids and extracted ore from the shafts, while police and local authorities turned a blind eye. In June a parliamentary committee warned that Britain could be attacked by Iranian terrorists if tensions increased. A source with access to current MI5 assessments said: “There is great concern about Iranian sleeper cells inside this country. The intelligence services are taking this threat very seriously.”

They found 2 others in NJ.

The FBI has issued an urgent nationwide alert for 11 Egyptian students who entered the United States last week but failed to show up for their courses at Montana State University. An FBI advisory says there are, at present, no known connections to any terrorist group but that the students are to be "approached with caution" and taken into custody. They "are here illegally and wanted for questioning," the advisory says. The advisory comes just over a month before the five-year anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks on the United States. "This is of very serious concern and is being closely tracked," said Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. The FBI says the Egyptians arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on July 29 and disappeared. The advisory says the alert is nationwide but that there is specific concern the Egyptians may be on the Eastern Seaboard.

It's hard for me to feel sympathy for Syria or any other arab nation that supports Hizb'Allah. They pissed off Israel and are getting exactly what they desrve. Now they have to deal with the IDF or an international force on their borders. Life sucks... thanks for choosing option F. Out of curiosity, does anybody know where Syria keeps their chemical weapons? I know they use to have chemical munitions depots at Khan Abu Shamat, Furqlus and Aleppo. However, that info is like 15 years old. Plus it's not including the 70 mobile units that they have hidden somewhere underground.

Hizb'Allah doesn't have anything to lose. They get killed, become martyrs and go to paradise to !@#$ 72 fat virgins. The Arab world probably wants Israel to stop, but I doubt if they want more European and American troops deployed to the region.

Eddie said in a GW interview a few years back that he thought there were a lot of unknown guitar players out there that were a lot better than him. However, he has to be one of the most inventive guitar players of our time. He perfected two handed tapping, open string pull offs, tap harmonics and brought us the brown sound. The list could go on for miles the things he introduced to the guitar world.

Part of the problem with extremists is they think they win when they actually lose. They aren't going to win sympathy from the international community when they commit terrorist acts and then go hide in hospitals.