Our Dear Friends The Saudis

Or should that read Bush family friends?

Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday.

Previously secret files describe how investigators were told they faced "another 7/7" and the loss of "British lives on British streets" if they pressed on with their inquiries and the Saudis carried out their threat to cut off intelligence.

Its not like Saudis would actually attack anyone.

Via Tiny Revolution.

A Question of Human Dignity

Dan Froomkin
No I don't think you couldn't figure out who is in the picture. I just had not posted one of him to best of my memory and thought it time.

Dan Froomkin isn't normally one for rhetorical questions, but it appears he had some up his sleeve.

Who are we as a nation? Are we who we used to be? Did one terrorist attack really change all that? [which is a great question, BTW] Can it be changed back?

Via WaPo.

Says who? Oh yeah, Dim Son

BE AFRAID! BE VERY AFRAID!

Ya know, every time I tag a post "terrorist, Bush" it occurs to me the words are synonymous.

"At this moment, somewhere [rather vague] in the world [that narrows it down], terrorists [vague again] are planning [really? you attend the meetings?] new attacks on our country ," the president said. "Their [always "their"] goal is to bring destruction to our shores that will make September the 11th [idiot, the party term is 9/11] pale by comparison." [and I suppose what you've done in Iraq is little more than a fucking tea party] [emphasis mine].

So I'll reiterate, who says so? Give US some evidence and don't just make such fucking sweeping statements.

We bloggers and the media can't get away with that shit so why can Dim Son? Just asking.

Via ilovemylife.

The ever-changeing faces of terror

Click for larger image
I'm quite surprised no one has picked up on this. No matter what happens, there's always another enemy out there.

The US needs enemies or it doesn't need a huge military industrial complex.

The recently expressed view of Nigel Inkster, the former deputy chief of Britain's secret service (MI6), that Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud is now the world's "deadliest Islamist threat and public enemy number one" reveals the puerility of the so-called "war on terror". As it enters its seventh year, the massive American effort to root out al-Qaeda and its allied organizations around the world faces a credibility problem with few successes and several mishaps.

On commencing his costly misadventures in 2001, US President George W Bush confidentially delivered bad news to his military generals that "this will be a long campaign". As the vague and drifting campaign reached the limits of temporal stretching with no end in sight, a psychological strategy that found favor with the US and its allies was to personalize and simplify the problem for the imagination of skeptical publics.

If victory is redefined as eliminating individual personalities rather than defeating a complex network or ideology, the bitter pill of failure can not only be sweetened but also showcased as a sweetmeat for citizens' consumption. This carefully crafted ruse of selling defeat as success begins with lionization of an al-Qaeda-affiliated leader through relentless coverage of his dreaded activities in the state-browbeaten media. The next step is to keep releasing stories that a hunt is on for the high-value target and that US/North Atlantic Treaty Organization intelligence is closing in on the star figure.

Since warfare is lethal, the likelihood of an operational commander being killed in combat is not far-fetched. After months or years of media buildup about the significance of a particular jihadi leader and the extent of havoc he has caused, when the subject does meet his maker, the event will be hailed by American spokespersons as a major milestone and feather in the cap for the "war on terror". The reality on the ground is likely that a replacement for the slain leader has already slipped into his new shoes, but Western media will be asked to raise a toast and self-congratulations will resound in Washington and London that they are one step closer to extinguishing the Islamist threat.

Truth is, building weapons of destruction, mass or otherwise, is the predominant manufacturing base in the US outside Boeing's building of commercial aircraft and Detroit's building cars which are too expensive for most foreigners to purchase.

No, the US has little else to offer. It specializes in "services" which is selling services to other Americans. Not hardly an exportable commodity.

Via Asia Times.

Firefighters Being Trained to Spy on US Citizens

On the face of it, this would appear to make sense. I mean they are there, the evidence is suspicious of terrorist activity, the evidence is out in the open, but...

How long will it take for firefighters to start being viewed as spooks who are snooping around your home when they come in? This is one of the few groups who are almost universally admired right now.

And how could testimony from a firefighter in court ever hold up? No probable cause for collecting the evidence. No Miranda rights. And as the story says, if RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) are found in the basement, They can't possibly be allowed to remain there even for a few hours while the police are alerted.

Firefighters in major cities are being trained to take on a new role as lookouts for terrorism, raising concerns of eroding their standing as American icons and infringing on people's privacy.

Unlike police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel don't need warrants to access hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings each year, putting them in a position to spot behavior that could indicate terrorist activity or planning.

But there are fears that they could lose the faith of a skeptical public by becoming the eyes of the government, looking for suspicious items such as building blueprints or bomb-making manuals or materials.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Americans have given up some of their privacy rights in an effort to prevent future strikes. The government monitors phone calls and e-mails; people who fly have their belongings searched before boarding and are limited in what they can carry; and some people have trouble traveling because their names are similar to those on terrorist watch lists.

The American Civil Liberties Union says using firefighters to gather intelligence is another step in that direction. Mike German, a former FBI agent who is now national security policy counsel to the ACLU, said the concept is dangerously close to the Bush administration's 2002 proposal to have workers with access to private homes - such as postal carriers and telephone repairmen - report suspicious behavior to the FBI.

"Americans universally abhorred that idea," German said.

Is there a point Americans will finally say they've had enough? I read story after story and think "this is it"! Surely Americans will revolt over this, but I'm always wrong.

Via The Signs.

The Practice Run?

Jesus H Christ with a bouquet. Why does everyone think they're targets of terrorists. Pennsylvania is almost as important to terrorists as is your garage.

From the UK we get news of what’s happening in Pennsylvania. I’m getting a little afraid already knowing that the State of Pennsylvania is protecting the right to vote by ensuring that the citizens don’t know where to vote. It’s not Halloween, but are you scared yet? Maybe you should be.

State officials have decided not to publicize their list of polling places in Pennsylvania, citing concerns that terrorists could disrupt elections in the commonwealth.

I've never, ever thought of Americans as cringing cowards, but I must have been very wrong.

America has become a nation of fucking pansies.

Via Bad Attitudes (Buck Batard).

US Approved Troop Hunts for Suspected Terrorists in Pakistan

Now I'm a simpleton and like to put things into prospective as simply as possible.

Can you imagine the US accepting Mexico's or Canada's following a "hot pursuit" into the US? Yeah, right.

Newly uncovered "rules of engagement" show the U.S. military gave elite units broad authority more than three years ago to pursue suspected terrorists into Pakistan, with no mention of telling the Pakistanis in advance.

The documents obtained by The Associated Press offer a detailed glimpse at what Army Rangers and other terrorist-hunting units were authorized to do earlier in the war on terror. And interviews with military officials suggest some of those same guidelines have remained in place, such as the right to "hot pursuit" across the border.

Via Mathaba.

You are a terrorist

This is something I've been cogitating about for a while. Its an interesting mind exercise.

You are a terrorist and want to inflict harm on the US. How?

1. You could ship explosives or anything else into the US via (new today) an approved shipper.

2. You could send instructions to the hoards via email or snail mail to Canada or Mexico and have someone take them to the US. Even if they fly, I've never seen an X-ray machine get all hot and bothered because your luggage contained "paper".

This's based on my understanding Canada and Mexico aren't Orwellian states yet.

3. You could email to the US using graphics instead of text. It stops spammers and they're probably more clever than the government.

4. The obvious, you could use a complicated code so "grandma" refers to the cell leader.

Personal note: I always suspected my dead grandmother was a cell leader, or a member of Greenpeace. I'm a little foggy on this. We should have talked more.

Any other schemes you may have are appreciated.

Face it folks, there're many ways to circumvent security. You're still more likely to die on your way to work. Sorry to remind you.


Oh yeah, one of the definitions for "die" is: To cut into small cubes. Yuck!!!1!!

Hey! You doubted I could tie that first graphic to this post? Pshaw. Ye of little faith.

US Declares Lebanese Group Terrorists

Eurasian Badger (Meles meles)
Also works as cat blogging
Another catch 22?

The story itself isn't that interesting. Soon Greenpeace will be labeled a terrorist group.

The Bush administration has blacklisted as a "foreign terrorist organization" a Lebanese Islamist group blamed for major fighting at a refugee camp, the Associated Press has learned.

The State Department is expected to announce the designation against al-Qaida-inspired Fatah al-Islam, which is suspected of having links with Syria, on Monday.

...

The officials said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed off on the decision to place the radical group on the international terror list on Friday. The sanctions took effect with her signature. [emphasis mine]

...

The designation freezes the assets of the group in U.S. jurisdictions, bars its members from U.S. soil and makes it illegal for U.S. citizens or those subject to U.S. laws to provide it with "material support or resources."

Nope. The story here is this is being reported to US now. So what happens if you emailed Fatah al-Islam and sent off a check to them Friday night not realizing you are providing "material support or resources" to a terrorist organization? You are unaware you're dealing with a terrorist group, right? Are you in trouble?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Oh yeah, don't ya love the way they had to work al-Qaida (al-Qaida-inspired) in there? They never give up. Its like a Hydra. Ya just can't kill the thing.

Or perhaps a badger is more appropriate. Once it latches on to something it won't let go. Yeah. I vote for the badger.

Clarification: By "you" in the above post I don't mean me. The first time I encountered the activities of Fatah al-Islam, they were already doing things I could never support in any fashion. I'm talking about the little old couple in Dubuque who were hoodwinked into thinking they were supporting a humanitarian organization.

(read more)

Plot to Blow up JFK is ‘Tip of the Iceberg’

Come on already Telegraph UK. We have enough fear mongers in America and the MSM reports what all of them say. You don't need to contact them and help spread the "terror".

The alleged conspiracy to blow up John F Kennedy airport, in New York, and a recent plot to kill soldiers at a nearby United States Army base represent only the “tip of the iceberg” of terrorist plots against America, according to US officials.

(read more)

Saudi Arabia warns foreigners of possible attacks

Terrorist attacks are always imminent at this point in time. But it seems the immediate threats might be real.

Saudi authorities have warned foreign embassies that a group blamed for last month's killing of four French nationals could strike again, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

"The warning was despatched by the (Saudi) Foreign Ministry to all embassies in the kingdom," said Mansour al-Turki, the Interior Ministry spokesman for security affairs.

Diplomats said the warning was sent after the Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday it had arrested some suspects in the killing of the four French nationals.

"Saudi authorities officially notified us on Tuesday that the group could attack again and urged foreigners to avoid travelling outside cities," a Western diplomat said.

The four French nationals were killed on Feb. 26 during a trip into the desert. No one has claimed responsibility.

The warning also advised embassy personnel not to travel in the area where the killing occurred, the Western diplomat said.

Some French residents in Riyadh said they received text messages from their embassy informing them of the Saudi warning.

"We have reacted immediately by informing our nationals of the warning which urged foreigners in general to be cautious and to call police as soon as they notice that they are being monitored," French embassy spokesman Alain Guepratte said.

Considering most of the 9/11 attackers were Saudis, this warning should carry some import.

(read more)