Police officers investigating the 7 July London bombings are searching two shops in the Beeston area of Leeds. Officers from West Yorkshire and the Metropolitan Police are conducting the searches - close to where three of the bombers lived. Forensic teams have been searching one of the shops, which sells computers, since police raided it on Tuesday.
Combing hard drives, I'll wager
Neighbours said the man who ran the shop had been questioned at a police station and then released. Scotland Yard said anti-terrorist officers were searching a combination of residential and business premises.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/16/2005 08:59 ||
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Needless for me to say but Beeston is an I-slamic colony in England.
A new report has claimed that extremist organisations and terror groups are operating in universities across the UK. Education secretary Ruth Kelly earlier told universities to clamp down on student extremists in the wake of the London terror attacks. But a report due to be published next week claims more than 30 institutions across the country have had "extremist and/or terror groups" detected in them, according to The Guardian. The institutions include Oxford and Cambridge Universities and the London School of Economics (LSE).
Anthony Glees, the director of Brunel University's centre for intelligence and security studies and author of the report, told the paper: "This is a serious threat. We have discovered a number of universities where subversive activities are taking place, often without the knowledge of the university authorities." The report says the Islamist groups Hizb ut-Tahrir and al-Muhajiroun (which was thought to have disbanded) are active at several universities despite being subject to a "no-platform policy" by the National Union of Students.
The BNP was found to be active at Cambridge University, animal rights extremists at Oxford, and Islamic extremist groups at the LSE and Manchester University. Ms Kelly said that vice-chancellors must inform the police when they suspect students or staff of engaging in "unacceptable behaviour". University leaders expressed concern over being asked to "police" their students but accepted that the terrorist threat could not be ignored.
University "leaders" used to be expected to be "in charge" of their institutions...
Ms Kelly told the annual conference of Universities UK: "Following the London bomb attacks in July, we are all having to re-examine certain policies. One is how to respond to those using the freedoms of our society to promote terrorism and violence." Her remarks had a special resonance as she spoke at Universities UK's London headquarters in Tavistock Square, the scene of the July 7 bus bombing.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/16/2005 00:41 ||
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How are they to tell the difference between the Islamist extremists and all the other nihilistic flavours?
Why not Harvard or better yet University of Colorado at Boulder where they can drink Turkish coffee with Chief-Stepped-in-Bullshit, Ward Leory Churchill?
British police accompanied by officers from the Immigration Service detained seven Algerians in dawn raids yesterday in London and Manchester in the continuing war against terrorism and extremism in the aftermath of the 7/7 suicide bombings and the failed 21/7 attacks on the London transport system. Home Secretary Charles Clarke confirmed that he had exercised his powers under current laws to detain the seven men because he considered them to be a serious threat to the British public and to Britainâs national security. This, he added, was based on âsubstantive evidence in detailed submissionsâ against the seven North Africans provided to him by the police and intelligence services. The seven men are expected to be deported, subject to any appeal lodged by them. âAs, unfortunately, we saw in July, there are individuals who are going about the course of trying to threaten the civil liberties of this country by terrorist or potential terrorist attacks. To the extent we know about those... itâs our job to defend ourselves against that, as vigorously as we possibly can,â he explained in an interview with the BBC.
Six of the men were among eight people acquitted in a trial in London in April this year of involvement in alleged ricin poison plots in London and in Manchester. The trial was discredited and could have saved the British taxpayer thousands of pounds because it took the governmentâs Porton Down laboratory 51 days to inform the police that there was no trace of ricin found in the flat of the suspects. Though none of the men have been charged under any criminal act, the Home Office confirmed that they were detained in âsecure prison service accommodationâ under the 1971 Immigration Act. A Home Office statement said: âWe can confirm that the Immigration Service detained seven individuals in accordance with the Home Secretaryâs powers to deport individuals whose presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good for reasons of national security. The Immigration Act 1971 grants powers to deport individuals and detain them pending deportation.â
Posted by: Fred ||
09/16/2005 00:00 ||
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But will the EU let them deport them? What if they cry "But we'll be tortured?"
Dutch authorities have arrested four people suspected of illegal arms dealing after finding hand grenades and other explosives in a Rotterdam basement, police said Friday. Police found 65 hand grenades, four blocks of military explosive, two detonators and a timer with a triggering mechanism in a bag, National prosecutors said in a statement.
The shipment is believed to have come from the former Yugoslavia. The suspects were two men and a woman from Rotterdam, and one man 'without a fixed address,' the statement said. Their names were not released.
A prosecution spokesman said the find was not terrorism-related. 'These are ordinary criminals,' National Prosecutor's Office spokesman Wim de Bruin said.
Uh huh. And their customers are just ordinary run-of-the-mill boomers.
The latest arrests follow the arrest of a 29-year-old man in the southern province of Brabant earlier this week who was allegedly an Islamic convert planning a terrorist attack. Investigators said they found a homemade bomb and 45 military-issue thunder flashes at his home.
Friday's statement said the arrests were part of an investigation into weapons dealing, and authorities had also intercepted a shipment of weapons from Croatia to the Netherlands in August.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/16/2005 13:16 ||
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#1
Not to worry The Dutch justice system is very mild. They will be free soon.
When FBI agents walked into Mahmoud Maawad's spartan apartment at 3557 Mynders # 5 on Sept. 9, they found a desk, chair, computer and a Koran. They also found an airline pilot's uniform, a chart of Memphis International Airport, and instructional DVDs, including one called "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act."
A federal magistrate Thursday ordered Maawad, a 29-year-old University of Memphis student from Egypt, jailed until his trial on charges of wire fraud and fraudulent use of a Social Security number. "The specific facts and circumstances are scary," Asst. U.S. Atty. Steve Parker said, arguing against Maawad's release. Since Maawad can't get a Social Security number, "he can't get a pilot's license, and can't go to flight school," Parker said. "But he wants to get behind the wheel of an aircraft." Parker said "we don't know either way" if Maawad is a terrorist or connected to any terror groups. U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Thomas Anderson ruled that Maawad be held without bond.
Though it's not illegal to buy aviation material, Anderson noted, "it is hard for the court to understand why he has a large concentration of those items, and nothing else to indicate Mr. Maawad plans to stay in the community." Maawad has been in the country illegally since 1999, and has used a false Social Security number to enroll in schools and open a bank account, Parker said. He's been working off-the-books for cash at a North Memphis convenience store, and was arrested by Shelby County sheriff's deputies last spring for selling alcohol to a minor.
Agents are downloading information from Maawad's computer and analyzing materials from his apartment in search of a terrorism connection. "My school is everything," said Maawad, a clean-shaven man built like a weightlifter. "I stay in this country for seven years; I stay for the school." Maawad said he's studying science and economics at the U of M. Since Maawad can't work legally, he told authorities a friend would support him. When court employees tried to reach that friend, the telephone was disconnected.
Between April and August, the penniless student ordered $3,000 in aviation materials, DVDs titled "Ups and Downs of Takeoffs and Landings," "Airplane Talk," "Mental Math for Pilots" and "Mastering GPS Flying," FBI agent Thad Gulczynski testified. He also ordered a pilot's coat and hat, and a chart of the Memphis airport terminal area from Spotty's USA in San Diego. When the company didn't receive payment on $2,500 worth of merchandise it had delivered, officials called the FBI, which launched an investigation, Gulczynski said.
#1
The nice little man just always wanted to be a pilot? As to the fraud and associated behavior the police were just being culturally insensitive in arresting him. Perpetual student and fraud since 1999. Scum.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/16/2005 10:47 Comments ||
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Article: Maawad has been in the country illegally since 1999, and has used a false Social Security number to enroll in schools and open a bank account, Parker said. He's been working off-the-books for cash at a North Memphis convenience store, and was arrested by Shelby County sheriff's deputies last spring for selling alcohol to a minor.
Working illegally is actually a pretty typical foreign student experience. I used to hang out with some cute foreign students from the Far East who were bright but not from rich families. What they used to do was get a rich family friend or relative to sponsor them for a student visa and an affidavit of support (non-enforceable in the home country, of course), with the understanding that they would find jobs to put themselves through school. Since student visa holders aren't typically allowed to work, they typically had to do off-the-books work or use a fake social security number.
#5
And Memphis, just like every other city in the country has it's fair share of Hajjeh marts to lend such support to "students" like this dude.
How many times did I walk into stores in the ghettos off of Elvis Preseley Blvd and be welcomed in by Al Jazeera blaring news out in Arabic at full volume while Mahmoud and his like restocked the Colt 45. They some malt liquor pickers!
#6
"When the company didn't receive payment on $2,500 worth of merchandise it had delivered, officials called the FBI, which launched an investigation, Gulczynski said"
WTF ???????? you mean that if he had paid he wouldnt have been reported. The name Mahoud Mawaad didnt throw a big RED FLAG up alone. Were is peoples common sence.
#8
Beats me how an "Islamist" would be selling alcohol in the first place. If he was so religious he wouldnt be doing that, ask any Muslim.
In the furtherance of jihad, all is forgiven.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/16/2005 13:40 Comments ||
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#9
If killing innocent muslims for the stars of the jihadi universe is OK then why would selling poison to infidels even register as a concern. Scum. Mayber nutter would-be-terrorist scum or just plain DIY jihadi scum. Scum all the same.
#14
Fed Ex Hub is not quite aligned with the airport like that.It is a possibility
,but there are enough "interns" from the U of M that are Syrians, Palestenians, etc.. who already work at Fed Ex, I'm sorry, intern at FedEx to pull that off any day of the week if that were the intent.
Fedex has been long prepared for such an attack. Mainly because in the 90's sometime a looney tunes employee armed himself with a spear gun and an axe and went after two pilots in the cockpit as he attempted to steal their plane.
Evidently FedEx boys don't play that shit. They gave him a round ass whipping and he now resides in a local mental facility.
Whatever the case Mahmood is fucked now. Welcome to 201 Poplar Mahmood. Don't mind the other inmates, they just want to anally rape you, they don't get many foreign types here.Kinda exotic for em.
#21
Maawad has been in the country illegally since 1999, and has used a false Social Security number to enroll in schools and open a bank account, Parker said.
now tell me again why he isn't being deported or put in jail for using a false SS#. And shouldn't he be made to show how he gets his money, get another number if that one has been disconnected.
Posted by: Jan ||
09/16/2005 21:47 Comments ||
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#22
Good job, G-Men. But you dropped the ball a few years ago with the Katherine Smith case. Remember that one? Smith was a employee at a Memphis DMV station where she was nabbed selling fake-name licenses to 4 ragheads from NYC. One of those rags worked in the WTC building before the attacks but the feds eventually let all of them go free. Unfortunately for Mrs Smith, late one night in MS as she was driving towards Memphis, her car exploded and hit a telephone pole. Her body was badly burned and her murderer never caught. I've always gotten the feeling that the feds never wanted to solve that crime, especially since it tied in with the WTC. Sounds like the FBI's 'Vitalis Boy' Mueller quashed yet another crime that might have had political blowback.
#23
You guys have got to check this crap out. I found Muhamhead's (piece of pork be upon him) e-mail login (pilot747) on this flight simulator site in Germany. Now let me think, how many rock ape 9-11 muslime terrorist were stationed in that country....
http://212.227.203.16/fb/member.php?u=385
Posted by: Piggy God Allah ||
09/16/2005 22:23 Comments ||
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#24
Hmm, I'm all for giving the jihadists a bullet (BTW, if you haven't seen "Inside 9/11" from National Geographic, Bittorrent it ASAP), but this story doesn't do it for me.
A lot of hints, portents, yada yada. But I need more than to be scared of shadows. Four years on, without any corraborating material, this smells of a wannabee.
Suspected Muslim militants yesterday shot dead two people including a 40-year-old man, burning his corpse and leaving behind a message threatening more mayhem, police said. The warning, scrawled on a partially burned Thai flag found next to the charred body of Sompas Ek, said that if innocent Thai Muslims continued to be arrested local Buddhists would not be safe. Referring to the emergency decree meant to help restore law and order, it warned: ``If you continue to use the emergency laws on Thai Muslim neighbourhoods, don't hope that this land will be safe and peaceful,'' said Pol Cpl Wisuth Channarin. Sompas was shot while riding his motorcycle through a rubber plantation about one kilometre from the main road in Raman district of Yala province, police said. He was a former army ranger who had converted to Islam from Buddhism in 1993 after marrying a Muslim woman, said Pol Lt-Col Mustafa Mani.
In a separate attack, former teacher Sawat Bunsawat, 54, was found lying in a pool of blood along a roadside in Waeng district of Narathiwat. He had serious gunshot wounds and died on the spot. His wife Jinartda, 52, also a retired teacher, sustained bruises along her body as she fell off their motorcycle. The couple were attacked by two young men on another motorcycle.
In other incidents Jeh-arong Jehmae, a 44-year-old rubber tapper, and his one-year-old son Arleef were seriously wounded in a gun attack in Narathiwat's Rangae district. His wife, Sitibeedor, who narrowly escaped the shooting, said she and her family were ambushed while riding a motorcycle to a rubber plantation. Pol Cpl Khanchit Mantone, 31, of Ban Sarong police station in Yarang district of Pattani, was attacked by two men on a motorcycle. He was hit in both legs but returned fire, prompting the attackers to flee.
Posted by: DanNY ||
09/16/2005 00:00 ||
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Iran is concealing many of its nuclear facilities from international controls and the activities show it is seeking nuclear weapons, according to a U.S. government report.
The computer slide presentation developed by the Energy Department for the International Atomic Energy Agency also shows that Iran's nuclear program closely resembles Pakistan's nuclear arms programs.
"Iran's past history of concealment and deception and nuclear fuel cycle infrastructure are most consistent with an intent to acquire nuclear weapons," the report said.
The report, first made public Wednesday by ABC News, states that Iran has a "confirmed record of hiding sensitive nuclear fuel cycle activities from the IAEA."
The presentation contains numerous photographs, including satellite imagery, showing that Iran built "dummy buildings" to hide an underground vehicle entrance and ventilator shafts at its Natanz facility.
Iran has violated IAEA safeguards and provided false information about centrifuge development, plutonium experiments and military involvement in nuclear activity, the 43-page report stated.
The presentation was shown recently at the U.S. mission to the IAEA in Vienna at a briefing for IAEA representatives. It was produced by the Energy Department's Los Alamos National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories.
Seven of Iran's 13 nuclear-related facilities were kept secret until 2002, including enrichment plants at Lashkar-Abad, Tehran, Natanz, and uranium processing at Adrekan and Gachin, the report said.
"Iran's nuclear program is well-scaled for a weapons capability, as a comparison to [Pakistan's] nuclear weapons infrastructure shows," the report said. "When one also considers Iran's concealment and deception activities, it's difficult to escape the conclusion that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons."
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/16/2005 02:07 ||
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OK, give them a few, Ummm, did you know they are armed?
BOOM, (Oopsie)
I'm sorry about that, Want a replacement?---
(Repeat as needed)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/16/2005 11:35 Comments ||
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#5
The IAEA will go out of it's way to ignore any data not gatherd by the IAEA. The IAEA is as useless as it's leadership is. The fact that a Muslim leads it and he may be supportive of more Islamic states having nuclear weapons has to cross someones minds someplace I hope. Fox and Chicken House comes to mind.
#6
Iran wants nukes? Let's give them a dozen or so - on the tips of Tomahawk cruise missiles. I'm sure that won't make them happy either, but it'll sure make it easier to negotiate next time - if there's anybody left to negotiate WITH.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/16/2005 21:49 Comments ||
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ARLINGTON, Va. â While taking down the insurgent stronghold of Tal Afar, U.S. troops discovered a crude chemical weapon, the commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment said Tuesday. The troops had just entered a building when their ears and throats started to burn, said Army Col. H.R. McMaster in a briefing to reporters. U.S. forces determined insurgents had rigged the chemicals to explosives, McMaster said, though he did not identify the type of chemical. âWe evacuated the civilians from the area and we demolished that building without a hazard to the people,â McMaster said.
He said several families were living near the building, suggesting insurgents intended to detonate the chemical weapon to harm them and blame it on coalition forces, he said. McMaster hailed operations in Tal Afar as a major success against an âunscrupulousâ enemy. âThey are some of the worst human beings on the face of the Earth, and there is no real greater pleasure for us than to kill or capture these individuals,â he said.
In recent operations in the Tal Afar area, U.S. forces killed and captured hundreds of terrorists who had taken over the city and ruled by terror, McMaster said. McMaster called the insurgents âunscrupulous.â In one incident, insurgents killed a boy and then put a bomb inside his body and detonated it when his parents came along, he said. Tal Afarâs residents recognized the insurgents for the thugs they are and provided U.S. and Iraqi forces with critical intelligence, McMaster said. âThe people are sick and tired of this violence, of this enemy, and they are very grateful for our efforts and the Iraqi efforts particularly to rid them of this enemy,â he said.
Another element in the successful operation was the Iraqi security forces, which served as a capable backup for U.S. troops, McMaster said. âThese Iraqi soldiers are brave, theyâre courageous, theyâre building capabilities every day and we are drawing strength from their example,â he said. Still, the Iraqi security forces are not yet able to conduct operations on their own, and coalition forces do not have enough troops to secure Tal Afar, McMaster said
#1
They are some of the worst human beings on the face of the Earth, and there is no real greater pleasure for us than to kill or capture these individuals
Amen to that! Good luck, good hunting, and come home safe.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/16/2005 16:04 Comments ||
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Five Iraqis were killed and 20 others were injured on Friday due to a terrorist attack by a booby-trapped car targeting a Shiite mosque in southern Iraqâs Kirkuk city, said a source from Iraqâs Interior Ministry. In a press statement, the source said the terrorist suicide-bomber launched the attack as worshippers were leaving the mosque after performing Fridayâs prayer, adding that casualties were rushed to a nearby medical center.
Previously on Friday, gunmen boarding a car shot dead Sheikh Fadhel Al-Lami, the head of Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb Shiite mosque, on a street in the eastern part of Baghdad. On Thursday, a bomb planted at the gate of a Shiite mosque in the northern city of Mosul blew up killing the mosqueâs imam and three other persons.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/16/2005 2:28:56 PM ||
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DHAKA, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Police in Bangladesh hunting for militants involved in last month's serial bombings, raided a suspected militant hideout and seized a large amount of explosives on Friday, police said. The raid is the latest in the country after about 500 small bombs exploded across Bangladesh on Aug. 17, killing two people and wounding about 100. Police believe Islamic militants carried out the blasts. "We have detained two people, seized four pistols and explosives that could be used to make hundreds of bombs like those exploded across the country on Aug. 17," a police officer said. Police believed militants used the hideout in the country's north as a bomb-making factory.
The two suspects detained on Friday bring to 15 the number held over the past two days as part of a nationwide sweep for suspected militants.
No one has claimed responsibility for last month's almost simultaneous blasts, but copies of a leaflet found at most bomb sites carried a call by a banned Islamic militant group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, for the introduction of Islamic rule in Bangladesh, a Muslim democracy.
Nearly 300 people have been detained over the past four weeks, and police say many of them have confessed to being members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and taking part in the recent blasts. The group's supreme leader Shayek Abdur Rahman remains at large, police said on Friday.
A day earlier, police seized four kg (8.8 lb) of gunpowder, 50 detonators, compact discs and printed documents from two militants detained in the capital and in Kishorganj, north of Dhaka, police said.
State Minister for Home Affairs, Lutfuzzaman Babar asked police officials on Thursday to further beef up security in diplomatic areas, government centres, airports and public places. "It is immaterial whether there is a threat of more bomb attacks or not, but we must ensure the mischief-mongers have no respite," Babar told reporters after meeting police and intelligence chiefs.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/16/2005 11:31 ||
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Sloppy, sloppy work. Surely you could "Find" a few.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/16/2005 11:57 Comments ||
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#3
Patience, guys. This was just the regular police. They have several "confessions" from terrs. Now they can turn them over to the RAB for more thorough tool-assisted interrogation.
They have to wait for a dark night (right now, the moon is almost full: too bright) to recover some arms caches. At that point, their accomplices will open random, ineffectual fire.
#5
Now that you mention it, I saw a news report easily ten years ago how the "Natives" in Afganistan were copying AK-47's by hand, we watched as they actualy made a complete gun sitting in a room and working metal in their lap with files and hand tools, then took the completed rifle outside, fitted a magazine in it, and test fired it, it worked perfectly firing a full 30 round magazine as first single shot, three round bursts, then finishing on full auto.
No machine tools used, all hand work.
No idea on accuracy. They just fired it in the air to test it.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/16/2005 18:20 Comments ||
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#6
Impressive. How many died from the falling bullets? ;-)
Hundreds of Palestinians broke through Egyptian and Palestinian Authority lines on the Gaza border Friday, pouring into Egypt in defiance of government attempts to secure the frontier. It was the second afternoon in a row that the crowd was able to overwhelm the measures imposed in the morning to restore order on the Gaza-Egypt border, the Palestinians' only outlet to the world that avoids Israel.
The surge started when Palestinians waiting to cross pelted their own security forces with stones at the Saladin gate, the main informal crossing on the border, in this border town. When the Palestinian security officials gave way, the crowd pushed through the iron gateway and tackled the Egyptian police.
"1..2..3..4, we don't want to wait no more! 5..6..7..8, open up the f**king gate!"
Policemen tried to beat the crowd back with sticks, but they were overwhelmed, and hundreds of Palestinians entered Egypt.
Wait, I thought they wanted to be in Gaza?
Earlier Friday, Israel said the failure to control the flow of arms and people across the frontier had severely undermined the credibility of the Palestinian Authority.
They had credibility before?
'They look like they're running a system which has neither law nor order, neither organization nor authority,' Amos Gilad of the Defense Ministry's diplomatic department told Israel Army Radio.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/16/2005 09:22 ||
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#1
This is obviously proof that the Paleos can be taught!!
They were taught for years that if there is a border crossing or check point you riot. Well, someone forgot to teach them discrimination skills so they could tell the difference between allied gates and Jooooooo gates.
Next, maybe they can be taught to build rather than destroy.............nah.
#8
How can they get past the gate? I thought they were Palestinians and were completely unable to live anywhere else in the entire world but in "Palestine."
#9
I made an extra large batch of popcorn this time.... lots of melted butter and extra salt, guaranteed to harden arteries and raise blood pressure just from the perfume. But I do have cold skim milk for those who want to make it a complete protein. ;-) Enjoy!
#11
You've heard of Paleo car swarms, right? That's when they scramble to a car that has just been hit by an IDF missile so as to, you know, pull out the sacred body parts of the now dearly departed Jihadi.
This is just the same phenomenon, only aimed to border-crossing gates and fences.
Next time Egypt, try electric fences and anti-personnel mines.
#12
The Paleostinian Authority's credibility just went from negative infinity to an imaginary number. They are going where no organization has gone before!
Join us for another thrilling adventure on the gate-breaking vessel POS Arafish as we navigate to and fro in Gaza between the Land of the Pharoahs and the Zionist Walled Country of Israel.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/16/2005 23:00 Comments ||
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Posted by: Mike ||
09/16/2005 9:37 Comments ||
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#3
I was privy to some discussions about this, and there was (and still is) a "Navy" lobby that says: if you are going to fly aircraft far over areas where you cannot land it, and you do not want to lose the aircraft and everything aboard it, then you need multiple engines.
If we are going to be putting "satellite grade" sensor packages in thses things, then we need to make damn sure we get them back. GH and Preds need a new design using 2 smaller, lighter engines. Per airframe it will likely cost a bit more for acquisition, but in the long run it will save more than that in lost airframes and sensor payloads.
That being said, the programming done to get the software right for these things is incredible.
soapbox
This worries me every time I hear about progrmaming jobs going to India - less CS jobs = less CS people, and eventually the well will run dry. Its already started to happen with the number of computer science grads dropping. And its a direct result of American companies outsourcing or H1B'ing the jbos to keep the pay low.
Who is going to write this stuff 20 years from now? Will we be screwed as a nation? Stop H1B and outsorucing now - fund/subsidise Computer Science as a strategic commodity: we need chip designers, systems engineers, and programmers because they are vital to our defense - and to the engine that powers our defense: our economy.
#4
OS, It was my understanding that the camera suite on GH would not survive a crash so it wouldn't give away mush if someone found it. It's not fragile, but after a crash there wouldn't be much to put together and build your own GH.
#7
less CS jobs = less CS people, and eventually the well will run dry. Its already started to happen with the number of computer science grads dropping. And its a direct result of American companies outsourcing or H1B'ing the jbos to keep the pay low.
Who is going to write this stuff 20 years from now? Will we be screwed as a nation? Stop H1B and outsorucing now - fund/subsidise Computer Science as a strategic commodity: we need chip designers, systems engineers, and programmers because they are vital to our defense - and to the engine that powers our defense: our economy
It's a concern, but consider the other places where software design is being done, often in sophisticated ways. On the one end are the EEs / Computer Engineering people. At the other end are the Information Science (not 'systems') people doing - in some cases - Ai / expert systems / data mining work.
#9
Old Spook - Who is going to write this stuff 20 years from now? Will we be screwed as a nation? Stop H1B and outsorucing now - fund/subsidise Computer Science as a strategic commodity: we need chip designers, systems engineers, and programmers because they are vital to our defense - and to the engine that powers our defense: our economy. -
Bravo, Old Spook! How refreshing to see that someone actually appreciates this. Outsourcing of high-tech jobs is a recipe for national defense suicide. Both sides of the aisle are so busy grubbing for money of any stripe and source that this critical issue goes entirely ignored by America's lawmakers.
These are the jobs of the future. There won't be many others that pay as well, are so mentally rewarding, or sustain our nation's security and economy nearly as much. Permitting these skills to flow overseas is tantamount to treason. How sad that the morons in Washington (most of whom don't even understand how a personal computer operates) nonetheless are granted the ability to doom our careers and national security through this hemorrhage of vital talent.
Posted by: The Z Man ||
09/16/2005 16:18 Comments ||
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#10
It's just stupid nowadays to build aircraft with one engine.
I have a friend who flew the no-fly zone in southern Iraq for a couple tours. F-16 pilot. He told me that it was a miracle that they didn't lose anybody during the YEARS that they flew that mission (which apparently caused a redesign of the Air Force Org chart as well).
F-16s have one engine. One of the nicknames for them is "lawn dart", because when they lose that engine, they go right into the ground.
Yea, it's a unmanned drone, but you would think that somebody would have learned some lessons somewhere, sometime ...
By now, itâs almost impossible to get volunteers to attack the Americans, and prices to hire people for that work keep going up. Shooting at Americans is seen as suicide, because not only do the Americans promptly shoot back very accurately, but they then come after you. The Americans have those damn little planes in the sky, the ones with cameras, making it difficult for attackers to hide or get away. Itâs much easier to attack Iraqi police or soldiers. But these guys are now wearing body armor, and will counter-attack as well. Worse, the Iraqi police will start questioning people in the area, put up roadblocks, and hunt you down. Itâs getting so hard to be a bad guy in Iraq.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/16/2005 9:40 Comments ||
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#3
Obviously, this guy hasn't read (or cared about, or believed?) the LA Times article about how the insurgency is swelling.
Or maybe the LAT article reflects the swelling urgency of the Sunni bad guys - win or die?
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/16/2005 12:56 Comments ||
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#4
"Obviously, this guy hasn't read (or cared about, or believed?) the LA Times article about how the insurgency is swelling."
Posted by: DanNY ||
09/16/2005 06:15 ||
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#1
Some good stuff, such as Koizumi in Japan & Chen in Taiwan.
Some classic poop: the conventional wisdom and ivory tower myths / memes repeated by a lazy "UPI Senior News Analyst". Does he do what he writes about? No. What does he do? Why, he writes articles, all his miracles acquired second-hand. He is a voyeur. Prolly pals around with software architects and other pseudo software wizards.
[ranty-rant]
This is a continuation of a thread from yesterday, in essence. Here we go again with the fabled Indian programmers and engineers. Look, let's apply some rational tests for validity. If true, where's the beef, huh? Why isn't India anywhere near the global center of tech and medical advances? Why haven't they eclipsed their own poverty, much less China, Europe, or the US? Cuz raw numbers don't mean DICK. There might be a there there - in another generation (or two) - if they dump a shitload of cherished poop, traditions, and customs. Now? Lol, nope. If they don't, they'll continue to be a pool of adequate people - a workforce for hire. Truth is, a BS degree from Bombay U or Bangalore Tech doesn't equal one from UT Arlington or Georgia Tech. Truth is, their society creates followers, not leaders. Truths is, individualism is obviously still in its infancy - and not socially approved.
Yeah, harsh, I know. But this is a parallel to the China myths. These two entities are history's losers. They can change that fact, but they'll have to do a lot of things right, and they can't seem to stomach that the right things, the ones that lead to prosperity and human progress, are, essentially, American things. Hey, sucks to be them. So sorry.
*pause* Look at India, I mean really look at India... and yeah, I've been there and worked with Indians both in the US and abroad... talk about a stratified gig with impermeable layer boundaries... ranging from huge cesspools to an ultra-elite rich - with a growing, but still small "middle class". You sociologist types can pontificate about this area, cuz it's where the rubber meets the road in capitalism - the only system that generates forward motion. For national prosperity to cover the spectrum, it requires a middle class of size, a critical mass, with assets - something to lose. It requires an education system that encourages entrepreneurialism. a tax system that lets them keep their profits, and a legal system that protects business as the engine that breathes life into society and continually raises living standards. It requires a social system which extols the virtues of hard work for profit - personal gain, that encourages advancement in all venues - personal, social, economic, and political, that does not silence the lone voices of creativity and innovation - while shining a bright light on the dark dank corners where sycophants, ankle-biters, and toolfools scheme, that rewards those who get ahead based on personal achievement - and punishes those who prey upon them, that frees the individual from the "isms" / Religious / Patriarchal / Matriarchal / Family / Clan / Caste / Class prisons. A system that does its laundry in public. A system that does not lionize the assassins who only succeed by bringing others down. A system that is level, with one set of rules, available to anyone willing to take the field and apply themselves.
So much of this simply does not exist in their present societal systems. It will have to be not just allowed, but rewarded, if they are to fulfill the vaunted conventional wisdom of the voyeurs and become a global power in reality - which is much much more than raw numbers to those who actually think about what that means... (uh, oh, here it comes...) Hegemonic (at any level). Ooooh, skeery werd.
You can run all the Mastermind contests you like. You can have a pool of a bafuckingzillion engineers of all disciplines. But you won't generate prosperity until the social and Govt structures reward this behavior. My experience is that they can cut a gazillion cookies - if you give 'em the cookie-cutter and a pile of dough, but they can't seem to make new cutters and can't seem to come up with the dough, either. All this thoughtless statistical poop, with no substance, deserves to be fried up. I have been there and done that in software for over 30 years. Still waiting for the massive Indian Tech Wizard (Lol) revolution predicted for more than 20 years to occur. Bullfuckingshit. Heavy sigh. How tiring.
Yeah, I'm a bad guy for itemizing this unsavory shit - hell, I left a lot out cuz the rant was getting to be a tome. I know. Color me bad.
Wanna argue? Fine - present a comprehensive case for everyone to digest. Cherry-picking my comments is lazy and gutless -- and will be ignored as the hair-splittin nitpicking nitwit brainfartlets. You have to emit a huge gasball of nirvana to get my attention, with at least six or eight waving arms, lol. The big pic thingy, she not be so rosy nor so mind-numbingly simple.
Analyze that, Sieff. Lol, you're anal, alright, but get back to me when you grow up and become a real analyst.
[/ranty-rant]
I feel better, now.
Live. Fight the good fight. Whack-a-tard daily. Ignore the typos. Feel the vibrations. Follow the energy. Be like water. Take a leak. Laugh out loud.
#2
*pause* Look at India, I mean really look at India... and yeah, I've been there and worked with Indians both in the US and abroad... talk about a stratified gig with impermeable layer boundaries... ranging from huge cesspools to an ultra-elite rich - with a growing, but still small "middle class".
How many Indian immigrants make it in this country? Why are they able to make it here but not there? Its still a heavily class structured society. I read the comments of an 1HB female who talked about the freedom to just jump on an airliner and travel anywhere in the US for a weekend. That is a social freedom that is not permited in their social environment. That is not going to change for generations in India. That will continue to hobble them in open competition.
When these 'competitor' nations start having illegal immigration problems on our level, I'll worry about it.
Been in the Software Biz for almost 30 yrs. Back in 1980 DEC was developing the idea of off shoring in India, India poured millions into education. The networks didn't support remote development back then so you got the prototypical 5 Indian programmers in an apartment phenomenon.
The problem is, as you point out, cultural. They have plenty of intelligent techies with little initiative. Given my job as a Development Mgmt. consultant I've worked with hundreds of Indian programmers in the US at dozens of firms.
The one skill that they almost universally lack (as opposed to the East Europeans) is the ability to say "NO, you're wrong" to almost anyone, be it user or IT folk. They're smart and knowledgeable so they know what will and won't work, but they can't seem to put forth a contrary opinion.
#4
Our project engineer hired a few student hourlies to get a lab set up for building some drift chambers. First step is to clean the room. He handed a broom to a student from India, who just looked at it and said "That's below my caste." First day=last day.
Posted by: James ||
09/16/2005 11:50 Comments ||
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#5
"He handed a broom to a student from India, who just looked at it and said "That's below my caste."
Who knew they were unionized?
Posted by: Dave ||
09/16/2005 12:04 Comments ||
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#6
JE: I read the comments of an 1HB female who talked about the freedom to just jump on an airliner and travel anywhere in the US for a weekend. That is a social freedom that is not permited in their social environment.
I don't think it's got anything to do with social freedom - it's got to do with lower salaries in India and China. A $99 plane ticket is more than an average worker's monthly salary in those two countries.
I do believe in the Flat World. There's some interesting stuff out there on the 'net about T. Friedman's thesis regarding the empending changes brought about by the current technology revolution. I do believe that our "Yankee Trader" culture will allow us to remain atop the world's economy. But there are inherent risks. Just remember that large betas can bring big rewards.
#2
One innovation against IEDs I could recommend would be a modification of a non-lethal weapon developed some years ago.
A large amount of a green, gooey and sticky substance was squirted on a person that would physically immobilize him. This large amount could be fired from a small container, and was contemplated for use either man-fired or as an "explosive"-like charge in the back of a paddy wagon or armored car. It did not prove to be suitable for various reasons as an anti-personnel weapon.
However, a canister of a similar substance could be fired from a very short, say 4" long, but very wide, perhaps 8" barrel, in an arc which would have it detonate over an IED. Hopefully laying about a 10' x 10' blanket of thick goo over the devise.
The idea is that the blast would lift it up a bit, like a fart under a sheet, but the goo would catch the vast majority of fragment and shrapnel given off by the bomb in its upward cone.
#4
how about thousands of little fart blankets w/large brains?
Posted by: Red Dog ||
09/16/2005 19:46 Comments ||
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#5
Shipman: good question. Not all IEDs are the same, mostly because of the fusing, which is most likely wire electric, radio electric, time electric, or time burning fuse.
The electronic IED detonator now deployed tries to create milli-amperage overcharges to set off the explosives at a distance, but it is not universally effective. And robots, while far superior to risking EOD or other personnel, are still expensive. Just firing weapons at explosives may or may not work, again, depending on circumstances.
The green goo, however, as an easy to use, cheap pseudo-mortar, would not replace any of these, just augument them. If it worked (being hypothetical for this purpose), I see it as giving an extra layer of protection from both blast and shrapnel, which could make all the difference in the world.
I got the idea from a different oddity that has made an appearance in Bagdad. It was discovered that the same, spray-on pickup truck bed liner used in the US, when sprayed on concrete block, was remarkably effective at holding the block together, instead of having it become shrapnel when a large explosion happened next to it. The block would be thoroughly shattered, but mostly held together by the paint instead of injuring the people on the other side of the wall.
The green goo in liquid form doesn't take up much space, but when exposed to air, forms a very large volume of sticky foam that can definitely immobilize a large man if sprayed on him. It is called a "polymer-based superadhesive agent that is extremely persistent and is virtually impossible to remove without a liquid solvent."
When military units arrive on a street scene, they immediately are on the lookout for IEDs. They can be disguised as many things, even street curbs, and the troops are very nervous until they are pretty certain that there are no bombs around.
The green stuff would be that little extra insurance, so if they suspect that something is loaded, first they spray it with green stuff, just to be on the safe side. If it isn't an IED, no harm done.
Al Qaeda's top operative in Iraq is drawing growing numbers of Iraqi nationals to his organization, increasing the reach and threat of an insurgent group that has been behind many of the most devastating attacks in the country, U.S. officials and Iraqi government leaders say. The group, headed by Jordanian-born radical Abu Musab Zarqawi, previously was composed almost exclusively of militants from other Arab nations, and has symbolized the foreign dimension of a stubborn insurgency fighting to oust U.S. forces. But Zarqawi "is bringing more and more Iraqi fighters into his fold," a U.S. official said, adding that Iraqis accounted for "more than half his organization."
Although Zarqawi is believed to command fewer than 1,000 fighters, the daring and lethal nature of their attacks, coupled with Zarqawi's links to the Al Qaeda terrorist network, have made him the most notorious figure in the Iraq insurgency. Zarqawi's faction has claimed responsibility for a bombing campaign this week that has left at least 169 dead in Baghdad, apparently in reprisal for a U.S.-Iraqi campaign against insurgents in the northern city of Tall Afar. One of the car bombers reportedly lured day laborers to his vehicle by posing as an employer. It was unclear whether he was Iraqi.
Details of a growing Iraqi dimension to Zarqawi's group were provided by three U.S. officials with access to classified intelligence data and who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. Their comments reflect the government's latest attempt to come to grips with a multi-layered insurgency that has often confounded U.S. forces and intelligence agencies. The U.S. officials indicated that the infusion of Iraqis, including, apparently, former members of the Iraqi intelligence service and military, represented a change in the group's makeup rather than a major expansion.
A significant Iraqi presence in the Zarqawi group carries ominous implications, both for the Bush administration and the fledgling, popularly elected government it supports in Baghdad. The Iraqis under Zarqawi's wing could provide him with better intelligence, and give legitimacy to a group viewed by many Iraqis as unwanted outsiders. In addition, Iraqi recruits are being exposed to the workings of a highly efficient Islamic extremist group. The influx of Iraqis also would diminish the effect of any tightening of border controls â a key Bush administration objective â on the insurgency's strength.
U.S. intelligence in Iraq has frequently been wrong. However, two factors add credence to the reports of the shifting composition of Zarqawi's group: Several of his senior lieutenants have been captured by U.S. forces in recent months and some reportedly have talked extensively under interrogation. Senior Iraqi officials have reported seeing the same development. Mowaffak Rubaie, Iraq's national security advisor and a former Shiite activist, said "there's no doubt" that once-nationalistic elements of the insurgency were drifting toward Zarqawi and his extremist Salafi sect of Islam. "There's a tendency to religion-ize the insurgency," he said. "Religion is a strong motive. You're not going to find someone who's going to die for Baathists. But Salafists have a very strong message. If you use the Koran selectively, it could be a weapon of mass destruction."
Few Iraqis appear to share Zarqawi's goal of establishing a radical Islamic state, but small numbers of Iraqi hard-liners apparently are attracted by the effectiveness of Zarqawi's group. "They're the best game in town, the most organized organization," said a U.S. official, who added that Zarqawi's network was also a "well-funded organization that is willing to pay people for their work" when many Iraqis, particularly police, have little or no income. The officials noted that police in three cities, including Mosul, are not being paid. They declined to name the others. Officials said it was not clear how dedicated these Iraqis were to the broader Al Qaeda cause, or whether they would be willing to travel outside the country to carry out terrorist attacks in Arab or western nations.
Zarqawi escaped capture in February year near the city of Ramadi, authorities say. He fled on foot as coalition forces at a checkpoint intercepted a truck containing a laptop and documents. Coalition forces since have killed or captured several of his lieutenants. The latest such incident was announced Sept. 9, when a U.S. military official said a high-level aide had been killed in western Iraq. But the U.S. officials who are familiar with intelligence on Zarqawi's group said the organization had proven remarkably resilient and was organized to withstand losses of key leaders, including Zarqawi. One of the officials noted that coalition forces thought they had delivered a major blow in January with the capture of Zarqawi's principal bomb maker in Baghdad. But since then, the official said, "car bombs are way up in Baghdad."
Overall, the officials said, the insurgency in Iraq is divided into three "clumps": religious extremists such as Zarqawi; former members of the long-ruling Baath Party of Saddam Hussein; and disparate Iraqi groups acting out of local or national interests. The officials described a steady flow of Saudis, Yemenis and other Arab nationals into â and, in some cases, out of â the country. But officials said foreign fighters accounted for less than 10% of the insurgents in Iraq.
Zarqawi's reported success in recruiting Iraqis to his cause comes as frustration is mounting among the minority Sunni Arabs, who fear they will be marginalized in a democratic Iraq and are prepared to fight its emergence. The CIA and other agencies have resisted pressure to provide an estimate of the number of insurgents in Iraq, partly out of concern that it would foster the impression that there is a finite population that can be stamped out. Rather, officials said intelligence analysts had noted that there were an estimated 800,000 to 1 million Iraqi Sunni Arab men of military age who represent the pool of potential insurgents. How many might turn to violence depends on several factors, starting with the extent to which Sunnis are satisfied with their stake in any new government.
Some Sunnis have objected to the draft constitution that is to be presented to Iraqis in a national referendum next month. The community's sense of estrangement could be heightened if the document is passed, as is likely, over their objections. "They're going to be extremely disappointed when they fail, and they're going to believe this is the result of fraud and being cheated out of what they deserve," one of the U.S. officials said. "There's going to be some real ratcheting up of Sunni disaffection with the process." The trial of Hussein, scheduled to begin next month, is also likely to add to a sense of victimization among Sunnis, analysts say.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/16/2005 00:23 ||
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#1
If you look at the vast number of attacks that Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia claims credit for on websites like SITE Institute there are only 2 explanations for its ubiquity. Either it claims responsibility for attacks it has nothing to do with (possible, but they often provide videos of their attacks) or they have an extremely well developed network accross the country that is able to withstand constant degradation.
I think a great many of the Mukhabarat elements are probably inside Zarqawi's organisation, and Izzat Ibrahim Al Douri's reputed pledge of allegiance probably deserves more attention from some of the 'experts'.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
09/16/2005 0:57 Comments ||
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#2
That's been my contention all along, Paul. I also think a lot of people have wanted to downplay the role of al-Qaeda in Iraq and/or split as many hairs between them and the Baathists as possible, which has led to a number of perception problems as far as who the bad guys are and what they want.
We here at Rantburg have Zark as Public Enemy #1 since at least the time of Sammy's capture, so we're considerably ahead of the bell curve.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/16/2005 1:38 Comments ||
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#3
I am getting so good at this, I can spot a MSM article by the time I read the first phrase, first paragraph.
They have one thing in common. The opening phrase begins with some variation of "world is going to hell fast."
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/16/2005 2:15 Comments ||
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#4
IMHO let's make Izzy PE#1. His apprehension or "death under mysterious circumstances" would send a powerful message to the Baathists that the jig is up. It would also get Basher's undivided attention as well.
#5
...the daring and lethal nature of their attacks...
Sorry MSM, blowing up civilians and children is NOT daring. Lethal yes, but more along the cowardly lines of attack. Daring would be a midnight raid on US or Iraqi bases, seizure of a weapons depot and theft of items, kidnapping the president of Iraq during an assembly of their congress, things like that. Things which the terrorists have proven over and over again that they don't have the nerve/smarts/long range planning/hutzpa to pull off, so they attack children.
#6
So how does this square with the article about it being harder to be a bad guy in Iraq?
Too many of these stories are exact opposites of each other.
#7
It looks simple to me, they set a theme and anything that does not "Fit" is simply ignored, one guy says "We're doing good" another says "Brave Freedom Fighters" and a third says "Cowardly Scum" then they sort the same data and simply do not "See" the whole.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/16/2005 11:28 Comments ||
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#8
why would they sign up too blow their own families and tribe members up?
#10
Yeah, or it could be the LA Times. Like Capt. American, but not so quick, it took me a couple of paragraphs to figger out it was not a Strategy Page article.
Every half-empty glass is also half-full. Oops. Other way around. See ? Even I get confused!
Every half-full glass (us) is also half-empty (MSM).
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/16/2005 12:29 Comments ||
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#11
Remember, too, that poor, angry Saudi lad who ended up in hospital with burns all over his body. He'd been told only that he was to drive the tanker to the target position, not that he'd still be in the driver's seat when his handlers blew it up around him. There may be lots of that going on these days... shocking, I know, that terrorist masterminds might lie to their minions, but things have so degenerated since I was younger... *sigh*
#12
it took me a couple of paragraphs to figger out it was not a Strategy Page article.
Strategy page paragraphs are a string of sentences that coherently amplify and analyze a central idea contained in the topic sentence of the paragraph. MSM paragraphs are single sentences.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/16/2005 14:55 Comments ||
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#13
#11: Remember, too, that poor, angry Saudi lad who ended up in hospital with burns all over his body.
That one fact, that he survived, then talked, had to hurt recruiting something awful.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/16/2005 15:41 Comments ||
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Suicide car bombers struck a southern Baghdad neighborhood three times Thursday, leaving as many as 23 Iraqi police dead in the second day of torrid violence in the capital.
The latest attacks occurred as Iraqi President Jalal Talabani addressed the United Nations and called on world leaders to redouble their efforts to help his country.
Talabani asked the world community to be patient with Iraq as it tries to cobble together a working democracy and fights a determined insurgency. He once again appealed to creditor nations to cancel mountainous debt that Iraq had accumulated under the former regime.
"Today, Iraq is facing one of the most brutal campaigns of terror at the hands of the forces of darkness," Talabani said.
Thursday's violence comes after 14 car bombings in and around Baghdad a day earlier that left scores dead, including 112 people killed when a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle near a gathering point for day laborers looking for work. Nearly 200 people have been killed in two days of bombings and ambushes.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, described the worsening violence as a predictable attempt by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of the terror organization Al Qaeda in Iraq, to "derail democracy."
In a message posted on a Web site used by terrorist organizations and attributed to Al-Qaida in Iraq, the group said Wednesday's violence was a response to the recent joint operations by U.S. and Iraqi forces in Tal Afar to rid the northern city of insurgent elements. In a tape recording purportedly of al-Zarqawi disseminated Wednesday, the speaker declares he has launched a war on Iraq's Shiite community.
With a national referendum to decide whether to adopt a constitution to govern Iraq set for Oct. 15, Lynch said insurgents are certain to ramp up the violence in coming weeks.
"It happened again today and it can happen again tomorrow," Lynch said Thursday in Baghdad. "We are convinced that we are going to fight our way to the elections."
There have been spikes in violence around other benchmark events throughout the 2 1/2-year insurgency in Iraq.
Most recently, militants killed hundreds of civilians in attacks over several weeks after Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced his government in late April. In January, before national elections, insurgents launched a barrage of attacks against Iraqi and U.S. forces.
On Thursday, the deadliest attacks were suicide car bombings targeting police in the Dora district in southern Baghdad.
In the first, the suicide attacker drove his vehicle into a police checkpoint and killed at least 16 officers, according to police.
Later Thursday morning in Dora, two suicide bombers driving separate explosives-laden vehicles launched simultaneous attacks less than a mile apart that appeared to be targeting police. At least three officers were killed, according to police.
An Interior Ministry official put the death count at 23 for the three bombings in Dora.
In a separate incident in Baghdad, a roadside bomb struck a Ministry of Industry bus, killing three, The Associated Press reported.
Elsewhere in the country, two Iraqi police were killed and four others were injured in the northern city of Kirkuk when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle. U.S. forces and militants also clashed in the western city of Ramadi, AP reported.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/16/2005 00:22 ||
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#1
I see a "Final Solution" in the offing for the Sunnis, and it's coming real soon if they don't wake up and catch a clue. In this neck of the world, people play by Hama Rules.
Posted by: mac ||
09/16/2005 5:32 Comments ||
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Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Thursday said they fear Al Qaeda terrorists will infiltrate into Gaza through the open Gaza-Egypt border, where Palestinians and Egyptians have been crossing largely unfettered since Israel withdrew from the area four days ago.
In a deal worked out with Israel, Egypt is supposed to deploy 750 border troops to secure the frontier and prevent weapons smuggling, but neither those troops nor Palestinian policemen have been able to halt the flow of people and arms, including hundreds of assault rifles and pistols.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday said the chaos at the border had been brought under control to a âvery high degree.â But it appeared most of the Egyptian forces had not yet deployed.
A trickle of people were still crossing the border Thursday, though the numbers had dropped from previous days when swarms moved freely across the frontier. Some Gazans were parking their cars along the border wall and filling them with smuggled cigarettes and gasoline.
Israel fears international terrorists will exploit the chaotic border to infiltrate Gaza and Israel.
âWeâre talking about Iran, weâre talking elements in Syria, weâre talking about groups like Hezbollah and weâre talking also about international terrorist groups like Al Qaeda,â said Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev. Israel has long accused both Iran and Syria of sponsoring militant groups.
Rafiq Husseini, a top Abbas aide, said, âwe are even more worried than Israel about Al Qaeda coming here because Al Qaeda will harm us more than Israel.â Such a presence, he said, would hurt prospects for peace and renewed negotiations with Israel.
âThe Palestinian Authority security apparatus will arrest any suspected Al Qaeda members or other terrorist groups if they infiltrate Gaza,â he said.
Islamic militant groups, some claiming connections with al Qaeda, have been active in northern Egypt but there has been no indication theyâve infiltrated Gaza, which until this week has been tightly sealed. Its operatives are prime suspects in a triple bombing that killed at least 64 people in July at Egyptâs popular Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik on the southern tip of the Sinai. That attack came 10 months after bombings at two other Sinai resorts near the Israeli border, Taba and Ras Shitan, killed more than 30 people.
Senior Israeli military officials said they feared Al Qaeda operatives could enter Gaza from Sinai and connect with the local Hamas militant group to share expertise and provide weapons.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/16/2005 00:19 ||
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Rafiq Husseini, a top Abbas aide, said, âwe are even more worried than Israel about Al Qaeda coming here because Al Qaeda will harm us more than Israel.â Such a presence, he said, would hurt prospects for peace and renewed negotiations with Israel.
And even more importantly, the money tree would wither under US pressure. They'd still get funds from their "brother Muslims," but if they let AQ run loose . . . seems like we had a little dust-up a few years back with a government that did just that.
Posted by: James ||
09/16/2005 12:28 Comments ||
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#2
Hamas might welcome AlQ at first but within a few months they would be competitors. Al-Q would likely have a social agenda (more dark tent clothes for women, no beer for men) that would eventually cause friction.
QUETTA: Taftan Levies on Thursday arrested at least 285 Pakistanis trying to enter Iran without any legal documents on the Pakistan-Iran border. Sources said 285 people from different parts of the country were on their way to European countries via Iran in search of employment. Iranian security forces arrested them and pushed them back to the Pakistani side of the border. The levies arrested and handed them over to the Federal Intelligence Agency (FIA) for investigation.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/16/2005 00:00 ||
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KABUL: Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is no longer in Afghanistan, the country's top police official said Thursday, citing the large number of US and NATO forces providing security and battling insurgents. "He is not in Afghanistan," Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali told reporters. "It isn't possible for him to be here because of all the international forces here. It is strongly suspected that he is in the tribal area," Jalali said, referring to a region of Pakistan along the Afghan border.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/16/2005 00:00 ||
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I wonder if he knows that Renee and Kenny have split up?
QUETTA: Police arrested over a dozen people including activists of banned religious organisations in various raids in Saryab Road and its adjacent areas on Thursday. The raids were made after the recent killings in Quetta at Saryab and Joint roads. More raids are being made in various areas of Balochistan to arrest those responsible for sectarian violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/16/2005 00:00 ||
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LAHORE: Prominent journalist Ahmad Rasheed said on Thursday that Taliban headquarters existed in Pakistan and retired intelligence officials including several retired Pakistan Army generals were still helping and supporting the militia and Al Qaeda.
Tap... Tap... Must be something wrong with this thing...
In an interview to BBC Hardtalk, the journalist said there was no doubt that the insurgency in Afghanistan was being supported from Pakistani territory, but denied that the Pakistani government was directly involved in it.
Not directly, anyway. The denials are at least a little bit plausible... If you look at them just right.
He said various elements in Pakistan including several religious parties, drug mafias and the transport mafia was supporting the insurgency. He also said the extremist religious parties governing two provinces bordering Afghanistan were supporting and helping the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Cheeze. Who'da ever thunkit?
Asked why the Pakistani government had failed to eradicate extremist elements in the country, he said the government had not dealt strongly with extremist because there was a lack of will to do so for certain reasons.
Starting with fear and running the entire gamut of emotion all the way to terror...
Ahmad Rasheed said President Pervez Musharraf wanted to clamp down on extremist elements operating in Pakistan, but the Balochistan and NWFP governments were not cooperating with him fully.
... if at all...
The journalist said he had no idea where Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was, but suggested that he might be hiding somewhere on the Pak-Afghan border. He said Pakistanâs tribal areas supported Al Qaeda, which worried the military regime, but unfortunately the government had no political strategy to counter the threat.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/16/2005 00:00 ||
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So lots more choppers need to stray across the "border".
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A new report has claimed that extremist organisations and terror groups are operating in universities across the UK. Education secretary Ruth Kelly earlier told universities to clamp down on student extremists in the wake of the London terror attacks. But a report due to be published next week claims more than 30 institutions across the country have had "extremist and/or terror groups" detected in them, according to The Guardian. The institutions include Oxford and Cambridge Universities and the London School of Economics (LSE).
Home Secretary Charles Clarke confirmed that he had exercised his powers under current laws to detain the seven men because he considered them to be a serious threat to the British public and to Britainâs national security. This, he added, was based on âsubstantive evidence in detailed submissionsâ against the seven North Africans provided to him by the police and intelligence services. The seven men are expected to be deported, subject to any appeal lodged by them. âAs, unfortunately, we saw in July, there are individuals who are going about the course of trying to threaten the civil liberties of this country by terrorist or potential terrorist attacks. To the extent we know about those... itâs our job to defend ourselves against that, as vigorously as we possibly can,â he explained in an interview with the BBC.
When FBI agents walked into 
Suspected Muslim militants yesterday shot dead two people including a 40-year-old man, burning his corpse and leaving behind a message threatening more mayhem, police said. The warning, scrawled on a partially burned Thai flag found next to the charred body of Sompas Ek, said that if innocent Thai Muslims continued to be arrested local Buddhists would not be safe. Referring to the emergency decree meant to help restore law and order, it warned: ``If you continue to use the emergency laws on Thai Muslim neighbourhoods, don't hope that this land will be safe and peaceful,'' said Pol Cpl Wisuth Channarin. Sompas was shot while riding his motorcycle through a rubber plantation about one kilometre from the main road in Raman district of Yala province, police said. He was a former army ranger who had converted to Islam from Buddhism in 1993 after marrying a Muslim woman, said Pol Lt-Col Mustafa Mani.
Five Iraqis were killed and 20 others were injured on Friday due to a terrorist attack by a booby-trapped car targeting a Shiite mosque in southern Iraqâs Kirkuk city, said a source from Iraqâs Interior Ministry. In a press statement, the source said the terrorist suicide-bomber launched the attack as worshippers were leaving the mosque after performing Fridayâs prayer, adding that casualties were rushed to a nearby medical center. 
DHAKA, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Police in Bangladesh hunting for militants involved in last month's serial bombings, raided a suspected militant hideout and seized a large amount of explosives on Friday, police said. The raid is the latest in the country after about 500 small bombs exploded across Bangladesh on Aug. 17, killing two people and wounding about 100. Police believe Islamic militants carried out the blasts. "We have detained two people, seized four pistols and explosives that could be used to make hundreds of bombs like those exploded across the country on Aug. 17," a police officer said. Police believed militants used the hideout in the country's north as a bomb-making factory.
Al Qaeda's top operative in Iraq is drawing growing numbers of Iraqi nationals to his organization, increasing the reach and threat of an insurgent group that has been behind many of the most devastating attacks in the country, U.S. officials and Iraqi government leaders say. The group, headed by Jordanian-born radical Abu Musab Zarqawi, previously was composed almost exclusively of militants from other Arab nations, and has symbolized the foreign dimension of a stubborn insurgency fighting to oust U.S. forces. But Zarqawi "is bringing more and more Iraqi fighters into his fold," a U.S. official said, adding that Iraqis accounted for "more than half his organization."
QUETTA: Taftan Levies on Thursday arrested at least 285 Pakistanis trying to enter Iran without any legal documents on the Pakistan-Iran border. Sources said 285 people from different parts of the country were on their way to European countries via Iran in search of employment. Iranian security forces arrested them and pushed them back to the Pakistani side of the border. The levies arrested and handed them over to the Federal Intelligence Agency (FIA) for investigation.
KABUL: Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is no longer in Afghanistan, the country's top police official said Thursday, citing the large number of US and NATO forces providing security and battling insurgents. "He is not in Afghanistan," Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali told reporters. "It isn't possible for him to be here because of all the international forces here. It is strongly suspected that he is in the tribal area," Jalali said, referring to a region of Pakistan along the Afghan border.
QUETTA: Police arrested over a dozen people including activists of banned religious organisations in various raids in Saryab Road and its adjacent areas on Thursday. The raids were made after the recent killings in Quetta at Saryab and Joint roads. More raids are being made in various areas of Balochistan to arrest those responsible for sectarian violence.
LAHORE: Prominent journalist 
