Showing posts with label terrorism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label terrorism. Show all posts

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Obama, McCain: Worldviews Apart on America and Her Enemies



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Obama's Anti-American Roots:
When Many of Obama's Associates and Advisers Are Anti-American and Anti-Israel, What Will Obama's Policy Be?







Great Britains's Melanie Phillips can't quite believe "Is America really going to do this?". She begins by comparing John McCain and Barack Obama.

"...the only way to assess their position is to look at each man in the round, at what his general attitude is towards war and self-defence, aggression and appeasement, the values of the west and those of its enemies and – perhaps most crucially of all – the nature of the advisers and associates to whom he is listening. As I have said before, I do not trust McCain; I think his judgment is erratic and impetuous, and sometimes wrong. But on the big picture, he gets it. He will defend America and the free world whereas Obama will undermine them and aid their enemies."

Here’s why. McCain believes in protecting and defending America as it is. Obama tells the world he is ashamed of America and wants to change it into something else. McCain stands for American exceptionalism, the belief that American values are superior to tyrannies. Obama stands for the expiation of America’s original sin in oppressing black people, the third world and the poor.




Obama thinks world conflicts are basically the west’s fault, and so it must right the injustices it has inflicted. That’s why he believes in ‘soft power’ — diplomacy, aid, rectifying ‘grievances’ (thus legitimising them, encouraging terror and promoting injustice) and resolving conflict by talking. As a result, he will take an axe to America’s defences at the very time when they need to be built up. He has said he will ‘cut investments in unproven missile defense systems’; he will ‘not weaponize space’; he will ‘slow our development of future combat systems’; and he will also ‘not develop nuclear weapons,’ pledging to seek ‘deep cuts’ in America’s arsenal, thus unilaterally disabling its nuclear deterrent as Russia and China engage in massive military buildups.

McCain understands that an Islamic war of conquest is being waged on a number of diverse fronts which all have to be seen in relation to each other. For Obama, however, the real source of evil in the world is America. The evil represented by Iran and the Islamic jihadists is apparently all America’s fault. ‘A lot of evil’s been perpetuated based on the claim that we were fighting evil,’ he said. Last May, he dismissed Iran as a tiny place which posed no threat to the US -- before reversing himself the very next day when he said Iran was a great threat which had to be defeated. He has also said that Hezbollah and Hamas have ‘legitimate grievances’. Really? And what might they be? Their grievances are a) the existence of Israel b) its support by America c) the absence of salafist Islam in the world. Does Obama think these ‘grievances’ are legitimate?



Phillips, with an outsider's eye, correctly sees the stark differences between John McCain, whom the press and Obama campaign have portrayed as "erratic", and Barack Obama, a candidate whose main qualification, according to the media, is his ability to "appear presidential".




If Obama is elected, then America will get to see if Joe Biden's "guarantee" of an international crisis is correct. None of this matters to many Obama supporters.

But the fact of the matter is: much of the world depends upon the United States for its security. The world, and especially many parts of Europe, will be able to see what the vision of an eviscerated US military looks like.

And Obama has promised just such an evisceration.

From Video: Barack Obama's Three-point Surrender Plan [March 23, 2008]:

Barack Obama's 3-point USA Surrender Plan:

1-Will end the war in Iraq immediately
2-Will end missile defense systems
3-Will not develop new nuclear weapons and achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals





Phillips' main concern is terrorism--which will not disappear if Obama is elected, despite the hopes of his supporters.

There are, alas, many in the west for whom all this is music to their ears. Whether through wickedness, ideology, stupidity or derangement, they firmly believe that the ultimate source of conflict in the world derives at root from America and Israel, whose societies, culture and values they want to see emasculated or destroyed altogether. They are drooling at the prospect that an Obama presidency will bring that about. The rest of us can’t sleep at night.


Some will sleep just fine. That would be those whose world view is one where no rogue nations exist; where 9-11 was somehow caused by America; and, where any international crisis can be forgotten by switching the channel to something more entertaining or pleasant.

by Mondo Frazier
images: dbkp file



Friday, October 17, 2008

St. Louis Bomb Blast: Economic Terrorism?



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Bomb Blast in St. Louis Parking Garage
Injures Prominent Takeover Attorney









As they hunt for the person(s) responsible for a Thursday morning bomb blast that injured John Gillis, investigators are likely considering the possibility the incident might somehow be linked to the current economic crisis. And for good reason.

Gillis, is senior counsel at Armstrong Teasdale, a large law firm based in downtown St. Louis, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report published today. A bio page on the prominent law firm's web site attributes a number of "significant accomplishments" to the 69-year-old St. Louis attorney, including:

* Counsel to seller in $210 million sale of Nasdaq listed company in negotiated tender offer followed by a back-end merger;

* Counsel to seller in $500 million sale of Nasdaq listed bank holding company;

* Issuer's counsel in $50 million dutch auction self tender offer for common shares; and

* Counsel to boards of directors or special board committees in a number of negotiated and hostile takeover transactions.

Just after 11 a.m. yesterday, according to witness accounts, Gillis attempted to move a package from near his vehicle parked on the sixth parking level of a 16-story office building adjacent Gillis' condo-building home in Clayton, an affluent St. Louis suburb. As reported in this post yesterday, the bomb blast shook the downtown area and prompted evacuations of area buildings.

Considering the type of work Gillis has performed, the enormous amounts of money at stake and the heady personalities often involved in such high-stakes transactions, it will be interesting to find out whether or not this crime indeed has its roots in the economic crisis or if some other motivating factor — personal, professional, terrorism or other — was in play.




ALSO at Bob McCarty Writes: Bomb Explodes in St. Louis Parking Garage! (Updated)

by Bob McCarty
image: Bob McCarty Writes
Source: Does St. Louis Blast Have Ties to Economic Crisis?



Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Possible Terror Plot Update: Five Missing Afghan Students Names



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UPDATE
More Details Surface on Missing Afghan Students








Earlier today, I published a post about five Afghan students reported missing for more than a week from the campus of the University of Washington. After contacting a variety of individuals and government agency representatives, I am now able to shed more light on the matter.

At 2:52 p.m. CDT, I received some answers to a set of questions I had sent to Dr. Maria Beebe, chief of party for Afghan eQuality Alliances at Washington State University. She confirmed that the University of Washington is an alliance partner, despite the fact that the name of the school was not listed on the program's website.

She also provided the names of the missing students. They are as follows:

  • Mohammed Ratib Abeer — Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan;
  • Masood Ghory — English Instructor for the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission;
  • Rahmatullah Hamidi — Scientific Member for Curriculum Development, Ministry of Education;
  • Numan Tarin — Senior National Coach for the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission; and
  • Sayed Hashmatullah — National Consultant for the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission.

Dr. Beebe said the students were reported "missing" to local police by Ken Peavler after they did not show up in class and their roommates verified that they had not shown up in their rooms. As program manager at the Evans School of Public Affairs, Peavler's duties include keeping track of the study-abroad students.

ALSO at DBKP: Five Afghan Students Missing From University of Washington, School Bus Stolen in Delaware

Of the 38 students selected for the program, only 32 remain after one returned home to Afghanistan to deal with a family matter.

Since the Afghan eQuality Alliances program is attracting a number of applicants (250 for the next batch for 36 slots), Dr. Beebe said, program officials can be more selective and add a criteria related to their current job titles.

"So, for example, we can say only directors and assistant director levels would be considered," she explained. "At that level, we will also get the older (more mature) students who have children and will have more compelling reasons to go back to Afghanistan."

Apparently, at least five of the students were not old enough or not motivated enough to want to return.

I have yet to receive additional information from U.S. Agency for International Development or the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Developing…

Check back for more updates as they occur.



WANT MORE of Bob McCarty, "The Ultimate Blogging Machine"? Try these recent posts:

* Supreme Court Chief Justice Pens ‘Mystery Novel’
* Democrat’s Message Flagged as ‘Junk Mail’


by Bob McCarty
image: dbkp file
Source: More Details Surface on Missing Afghan Students



Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Hezbollah, Childhood: The Joys of the Hezbollah Children's Museum



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A Trip to the Hezbollah Children Museum



If culture is destiny, then happiness is not in the cards for today's children in Southern Lebanon.

Our Man in the Bay State, Boston Herald writer, Darren Garnick, has a revealing piece out, "The Hezbollah Children’s Museum — A Cross-Cultural Study". Revealing because it takes a look at one of the joys of childhood--and childhood lost.

As the parent of a boy equally enthralled by escalators and stegasauruses, I’ve never met a Children’s Museum that I didn’t like. I find these places to be especially friendly to candid photo-ops.


Garnick then lists--and includes some great pix of--his favorite child museums: THE MULTI-LEVEL GERBIL CAGE — BOSTON, MASS. (the picture at the top of this piece); THE GEAR WALL — DOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE; and, THE HUMAN BODY MAZE — BANGOR, MAINE.

Which would all make for a great feature--but then he goes further.

"This might shock you: The fun-spirited, light-hearted tone of these exhibits is sorely lacking at the new Hezbollah Children’s Museum in South Lebanon."

Unless readers frequent blogs which specialize in the arcane world of Hezbollah-bilia, they'd be generally unaware that terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah, even dabble in Children's Museums. Who has the time--what with delis to blow up, journalists to behead and rockets to launch?

Darren quotes the International Herald Tribune’s Robert F. Worth.

"...Worth offers a vivid glimpse of “Hezbollah’s most ambitious multimedia exhibit to date,” a tourist attraction devoted to their all-time terrorist superstar, Imad Mughniyeh. "

Mughniyeh was believed to be responsible for:

* The 1983 suicide attacks on the U.S. Embassy and Marines barracks (241 dead) in Beirut,
* A 1985 hijacking of a TWA jet, which ended with the dumping of Navy diver Robert Stethem’s body on the tarmac,
* The kidnapping, torture and murder of a CIA bureau chief,
* The kidnapping and imprisonment of the Associated Press chief Mideast correspondent for six years,
* The bombings of the Israeli Embassy and the Jewish community center in Argentina,
* The 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, and many other heinous killings.


Mughniyeh met a suspicious end--he was blown up at a time and date not of his own choosing, taking only a car along with him (perhaps by the Israelis, who've denied it).

Darren then cuts to a "Rocky-Hezbollah" analogy before coming back to the carefree joys of Hezbollah childhood.


AUTHENTIC TERRORIST MEMORABILIA: “The children crowd forward around the glass case, eager for a glimpse of the martyr’s bloodstained clothes. His belt is here, and the shoes he died in, scarred with shrapnel. The battered desk where he planned military operations still has his box of pencils on it, his in-box, his cellphone.”

MILITARY LASER SHOWS: Presumably a bit more somber than the Pink Floyd “The Wall” show that used to sell out at the Boston Museum of Science, this light extravaganza illuminates Hezbollah weaponry waiting to be used on the hapless Zionists. The IHT cites “overflow crowds” that have been keeping the exhibit open past 1 a.m.

THE MARTYR’S HEAVEN EXPERIENCE: “In the darkened room, a figure representing a dead Hezbollah fighter lies on his back on a large sloping bank of white flowers. A sound of exploding bombs gives way to patriotic anthems as a screen shows a brilliant sunset and a coffin being carried through a dark forest. Later, a laser show illuminates the darkness. Other videos braid together images from the 2006 war, including some showing Mugniyah, along with scenes of Hezbollah soldiers training in the green hills of southern Lebanon.”

Who’s showing up to Martyr’s Heaven? “On a recent afternoon, busloads of schoolchildren were arriving to see the exhibit, with a group of Boy Scouts.”

MOCKING THE WEAK ISRAELI MILITARY: “A fake skeleton stands upright in a torn uniform and helmet beneath the legend, “The invincible Israeli soldier.” There are captured Israeli tanks jutting up from the ground at odd angles, their hatches burned and broken. As visitors crowd from one display to another, a soundtrack blares overhead, mixing the sounds of bombs and machine-gun fire with mournful operatic voices and warlike speeches.”



The piece finishes with a flourish: three Garnick thoughts, of which the third is below:

3. The line between self-confident and just plain stupid is a razor thin one. Historians say that Israeli cockiness after their 1967 rout led to a gross underestimation of the Arabs’ true fighting power. Not fearing the Egyptians and Syrians enough in 1973 led to lax Israeli leadership and half-assed preparedness (not enough historians use the term ‘half-assed’). Egypt’s 6 October victory bridge might seem like a joke, but for a while it looked like Israel was finished.


There's two updates, including a link to the LA Times blogs, which does a room-by-room breakdown of what exactly is in the Hezbollah Children's Museum.

German poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, published "Childhood" in 1902. It contained a collection of poems examining the "feelings of wonder and bafflement" and the child's efforts to "grapple with the puzzle of human existence."

Rilke's childhood--thankfully--did not include any trips to the Hezbollah Children's Museum.


by Mondoreb
images: Darren Garnick's Media Lab
Source: The Hezbollah Children’s Museum — A Cross-Cultural Study

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

War on Terror: Watch List Grows to One Million Names



Big Brother is watching--all one million of you.

The watch list of terrorism suspects recently passed 1 million names--which translates into about 400,000 people, according to NewsMax.

Are there really nearly a half-million terrorists among us?

The number of times we've agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union can be counted on one hand, but this appears to be one of those rare occasions: the list is too big to be effective.

The list is one of the "most effective tools" implemented after 9-11. The Bush administration disagreed. The Department of Homeland Security is like any other government bureaucracy: more interested in job security than effectiveness.

Prior to September 11, the no-fly list had just 16 people on it.

Either the DHS is so effective and have discovered 1 million (minus 16) new terrorist names in the last 7 years. Or, more likely, the list has a lot of people on it "just to be on the safe side".

Which is fine--unless your name is on the list by mistake. Which happens more frequently than is publicized.

Otherwise, how to go about checking out the 1 million? Are terrorists sprouting like weeds? Is the DHS lazy about checking out these thousands of potential terrorists? Does anyone care?

"America's new million-record watch list is a perfect symbol for what's wrong with this administration's approach to security: it's unfair, out-of-control, a waste of resources (and) treats the rights of the innocent as an afterthought," ACLU technology director Barry Steinhardt said in a release.

President George W. Bush ordered in the current list in September 2003 as a way to wrap several growing terrorism watchlists into a single government database compiled and overseen by the FBI, through a Terrorist Screening Center.

Suspected terrorists or people believed to have links to terrorism are included on the list, which can be used by a wide range of government agencies in security screening. About 50,000 individuals are included on the Transportation Security Administration "no-fly" or "selectee" lists that subject them to travel bans, arrest or additional screening.


Ted Kennedy, civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis and Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) have all had their troubles with their names being on watch lists. One can understand Senator Kennedy having problems if the watch list contained names of members of Congress spouting nonsense--but Senator Kennedy a terrorist?

He's not that ambitious.

[Terrorism Screening Center spokeman, Chad Kolton], cited a report last year by the Government Accountability Office that said there was general agreement within the federal government that the watch list had helped to combat terrorism.

"The list is very effective. In fact it's one of the most effective counterterrorism tools that our country has," he said.

About 400,000 individuals are included on the list, about 95 percent of whom are not U.S. citizens or residents, Kolton said. The watch list also includes separate entries with aliases, fake passports and fake birth dates, bringing the total number of records to more than 1 million, he said.


TSA spokeman Christopher White said Kennedy and Lewis were never on the list, and that problems they reported were due to their misidentification with names properly on it.

One of the least effective ways of identifying ineffective government programs would be to survey government bureaucrats; yet, "general agreement within the federal government" that the list is effective seems to indicate the use of that benchmark.

When new government agencies or programs or regulations or laws are proposed, critics rightly point out the bad things that can happen with nearly all things government. Proponents pooh-pooh the critics' claims, many times calling them preposterous.

It's not that poorly-constructed government programs, agencies, regulations or laws start out as being malicious--it's that they become that way due to the very inefficiencies of large government.

The watch list is a perfect example of this.

The watch list is "very effective"--unless your name mistakenly winds up on it.

1 million names on the watch list and the refusal to profile targeted groups of air travelers--while there are thousands of unknown persons passing through a still-unsecured southern border--makes no sense.

Except to those running government bureaucracies.

by Mondoreb
image: propaganda posters
Source:
* Terror Watch List: Over 1 Million Names and Growing
* U.S. Terrorism Watch List Tops 1 Million
 
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