Sometimes you stumble across something that is just too damn funny when it certainly isn’t meant to be. This is a picture of an anti-terrorist drill being conducted on segways ahead of the summer Olympic games in Beijing.
This just amuses me to no end.
The bad guys can die in a hail of bullets while giggling. An interesting psychological tactic.
Um, yipes?
From Seattle Times:
Four years after Abdul Qadeer Khan, the leader of the world’s largest atomic black market, was put under house arrest and his operation declared over, international inspectors and Western officials were confronting a new mystery left by him, this time over who might have received blueprints for a sophisticated and compact nuclear weapon found on his network’s computers.
Working in secret for two years, investigators have tracked the digitized blueprints to Khan computers in Switzerland, Dubai, Malaysia and Thailand. The blueprints are electronic and could be rapidly reproducible for creating a weapon relatively small and easy to hide, making it attractive to terrorists.
The revelation over the weekend that the Khan operation even had such a blueprint underscores the questions that remain about what the Pakistani metallurgist and the father of Pakistan’s nuclear-weapons program, was selling and to whom.
It also raises the possibility he may still have sensitive material in his possession.
Read on.
Jeebus. The UK gov’t has apparently been into the Bush White House’s private stash of recreational horticulture.
Being commanded about by the child-monster has slowed down my news consumption. So, big thanks to PS for the heads up. Apparently the UK gov’t wants to set the new detention limit without charges to 42 days. This has triggered a firestorm.
From BBC:
Shadow home secretary David Davis has resigned as an MP.
He is to force a by-election in his Haltemprice and Howden constituency which he will fight on the issue of the new 42-day terror detention limit.
Mr Davis told reporters outside the House of Commons he believed his move was a “noble endeavour” to stop the erosion of British civil liberties.
The 59-year-old is one of the best known Tory MPs and his resignation came as a complete surprise in Westminster.
He told reporters outside the Commons: “I will argue in this by-election against the slow strangulation of fundamental British freedoms by this government.”
BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said it was an extraordinary move which was almost without precedent in British politics.
Read on.
Well, after having issued warnings in February the Taliban are now making good on their threats. The terrorist group wanted cell phone networks shut down at night so that the Canadians, Brits and Americans could have less luck hunting them down.
Well, as was expected, they were ignored. Now they’re running around parts of Afghanistan blowing up cell towers.
From the LA Times:
Afghans tend to be stoic in the face of poverty, hardship and seemingly endless warfare. But mess with their cellphones, and the response is one of undiluted outrage.
For the last two months, Taliban fighters have been blowing up telecommunications towers, with the aim of preventing NATO-led forces from hunting them down via cellphone signals. It could hardly have been a worse public-relations move for the insurgency.
Fuming Afghans call the tactic nonsensical.
“I’m so, so furious about this,” sputtered businessman Rahim Agha. “Why do they have to do this to us? Why can’t they just turn off their phones?”
To Afghans, the country’s rapidly expanding cellphone network is a symbol of pride and hoped-for prosperity. Cellphones are a lifeline to Afghanistan’s vast rural hinterlands, an engine of commerce, and a vital link with millions of Afghan refugees around the world.
This will continue to turn the populace against the deposed regime and further to worsen their situation.
Sharp like beach ball.
Tags: Taliban, Cell Phone Towers, Insurgents
You know, these are interesting demands from a terrorist group on the run.
From Ars Technica:
The towers and offices of mobile phone operators in Afghanistan are being pressured to shut down operations at night by the Taliban. The former rulers of Afghanistan and current insurgent group held “talks” with the four major mobile companies in Afghanistan today, and gave them three days to go dark for 14 hours per day—or else.
The reason for the threat is the Taliban’s belief that American soldiers and rebels within Afghanistan are using mobile phones to track down remaining Taliban members. “Since the occupying forces stationed in Afghanistan usually at night use mobile phones for espionage to track down the mujahideen, the Islamic Emirate gave a three-day ultimatum to all mobile phone firms to switch off their phones from five in the afternoon until seven in the morning,” Taliban spokesperson Qari Mohammad Yousuf told Reuters, ironically via mobile phone (and presumably during daylight).
This is reminiscent of the Tanya Harding request for a “do over”. And of course there is amusement to be had that they made their demands…via cell phone.
Tags: Taliban, Terrorism, Cell Phones
Unfortunate but, inevitable.
From CSO Online:
A recently released tool that allegedly was designed to help al-Qaeda supporters encrypt their Internet-based communications is a well-written and easily portable piece of code, according to a security researcher who has analyzed the software.
However, messages that are encrypted using the tool, which is known as Mujahedeen Secrets 2 (alternately spelled as Mujahideen), should be relatively easy for law enforcement authorities to spot and track, said Paul Henry, vice president of technology evangelism at Secure Computing Corp. in San Jose.
The tool was previously downloaded and reviewed by information-security practitioner Jeff Bardin, a former USAF/NSA code-breaker and Arabic translator who blogs for CSOonline.com. In a blog entry, “A Gift from the Islamic Faithful Network – Mujahedeen Secrets 2 Program,” Bardin concluded that the tool showed a software development cycle with an increasing level of sophistication.
For the full article read on.
Tags: Terrorist Encryption, Terrorist Crypto, Al-Qaeda Encryption Tool
From the Washington Post:
The Homeland Security Department spent more than $90 million to create a network for sharing sensitive anti-terrorism information with state and local governments that it has decided to replace, according to an internal department document.
The decision was made late last year but was not announced. It was outlined in an Oct. 27 memorandum that listed the network’s flaws and asserted that DHS’s counterterrorism, immigration enforcement and disaster management missions were hampered by the proliferation of more than 100 Web “portals” that provide poorly coordinated information.
“Most are duplicative in capabilities” and lack innovation, noted the memo by DHS Undersecretary for Management Paul A. Schneider. He said that as a result, the department “will replace” the current system, known as the Homeland Security Information Network.
The decision underscores recurring criticism about the department’s effectiveness at meeting the core need to better share information with government and private partners involved in counterterrorism efforts five years after it was formed, according to lawmakers and independent experts. The department also has repeatedly rushed crucial technology initiatives, leading to delays and millions of dollars in additional costs.
Tags: DHS, Anti-Terrorism, DHS Data Network, Terrorism
Al-Qaida has moved its PR campaign to the mobile market with the addition of video content for cell phones.
From CBC:
Video messages of al-Qaida leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri can now be downloaded to cell phones, the terror network has announced, as part of its attempts to further extend its reach.
The announcement was posted late Friday by al-Qaida’s media wing, al-Sahab, on websites commonly used by Islamic militants. As of Saturday, eight previously recorded videos were made available including a recent tribute to the slain former “al-Qaida in Iraq” leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed by U.S. forces in Iraq in June 2006.
In a written message introducing the new cell phone videos, al-Zawahri, al-Qaida’s No. 2 figure, asked followers to spread the terror group’s messages.
Now, I think it would be truly amusing if someone were to hack their content servers and trojan the videos. That would be amusing to no end to watch as their supporters have their cell phones bricked.
Tags: Al-Qaida, Mobile Terror Messages, Terrorism. Terrorist
Just got word that former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto was killed at a rally this morning. She was apparently shot in the neck by an assailant. The attacker was allegedly wearing a suicide vest. Details are sketchy right now.
More to follow.
[UPDATE] 8:24 am Reuters is reporting that she has been been gravely injured but, is in fact still alive.
From Reuters:
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was seriously wounded in an attack after a rally in the city of Rawalpindi, her husband said.
“I was informed that she is badly injured,” Asif Ali Zardari told Ary-One television from Dubai.
CONFIRMED: 8:32 am She has died. A tragic moment in history. Yet again the democratic process has been derailed by fanatics and madmen. Was this a terrorist group or a political assassination by rivals? Only time will tell.
References:
BBC News
CNN
Washington Post
ABC News
CBC News
[UPDATE] OK, after having watched 24 hours (not literally) of CNN’s “breaking news” on this story I’m struck by something. Have we seen this before? Shortly after the attack Pervez Musharraf was saying that it was a terrorist attack. OK, so that would be anyone’s first guess. But, consider the source. He has a lot to gain by having Bhutto leave the playing field as it were. Before you start crying conspiracy nut read this on CNN.
The source of the claim was apparently Italian news agency, Adnkronos International (AKI), which said that al Qaeda Afghanistan commander and spokesman Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid had telephoned the agency to make the claim.
“We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen,” AKI quoted Al-Yazid as saying.
According to AKI, al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri set the wheels in motion for the assassination in October.
One Islamist Web site repeated the claim, but that Web site is not considered a reliable source for Islamist messages by experts in the field.
The DHS official said the claim was “an unconfirmed open source claim of responsibility” and the bulletin was sent out at about 6 p.m. to state and local law enforcement agencies.
Hmm, the other sites aren’t chiming in. This is a group that is more than happy to take credit for bloodshed and mayhem yet, they are strangely quiet even as Bhutto is being laid to rest.
*cough* JFK *cough*
I’m just saying.
Tags: Benazir Bhutto, Bhutto, Pakistan Prime Minister, Assassination
If ever there was a case for handing out prophylactics and saying “for the love of (insert deity) let it end with you”, this is it. An art student, Thorarinn Jonsson, from the OCAD placed a fake bomb behind the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto in what was apparently part of his final school project. The police were alerted to the device which resembled several pipe bombs strapped together. He affixed a note to the device that said “this is not a bomb”.
Indeed.
From Citynews.ca:
The 25-year-old remains relatively unrepentant about an escapade that also cost police hours of their valuable time and an equal amount in rustling up the necessary experts and equipment to defuse the phony explosive.
“I expected the police to immediately realize what they were dealing with,” he claims. Two videos surrounding the hoax were posted on YouTube, one here, the other here. One shows a girl going through the ROM when an apparent explosion takes place. Jonsonn calls it part of his final assignment for the school.
“I’m taking something that’s clearly a sculpture. It’s clearly not a bomb. But by taking it out of context and putting it into another context, by leaving it lying around … it suddenly takes on a different meaning.”
Does he feel bad about the effect it had? “I think the piece is pretty important … Police waste their time all the time doing all kinds of things.”
Yes, police do waste their time with these type of things because morons like Jonsson do stupid crap like this.
Tags: Moron, Fake Bomb, Pipe Bomb Art Project
