Free Republic

SNIPPET: "Reckless doesn't mean not dangerous. Quite the opposite. They may fail spectacularly, or be wildly successful. One thing I believe we can count on is that they will take risks, act swiftly, and burn as many assets as they have to along the way in order to do what Khamenei wants."

SNIPPET: "Moeed Abdul Salam didn't descend into radical Islam for lack of other options. He grew up in a well-off Texas household, attended a pricey boarding school and graduated from one of the state's most respected universities." SNIPPET: "It is not clear to what extent Salam's family knew of his radicalism, but on his Facebook page the month before he died, he posted an image of Anwar al-Awalki, the American al-Qaida leader who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen, beside a burning American flag." SNIPPET: "The family, originally from Pakistan, immigrated to the U.S. decades ago."

SNIPPET: "Chicago gangs are still spray-painting their graffiti on alley walls, train cars and viaducts — but they’re also using their smart phones and computers for “cyber-tagging,” according to the Chicago Crime Commission, which released an updated book on the city’s street gangs Thursday. They’re provoking their rivals with Internet graffiti and using social media to keep in touch with their associates, according to the commission. “They’re tagging websites with information that is provocative and incites violence,” said Jody Weis, former Chicago Police superintendent and president of the commission." SNIPPET: "Web chatter is a valuable tool for law enforcement officials...

SNIPPET: "While these various elements of the jihadist network are distinct, the Internet brings them together, especially at the grassroots level. Videos, websites and online magazines indoctrinate aspiring militants in the jihadist ideology and provide a forum for like-minded individuals and groups."

The Jihad Will Be YouTubed by Raffaello Pantucci December 15, 2011 FOREIGN POLICY - The AFPAK Channel SNIPPET: "While clearly the technology to make such videos is something that is universal, it does seem as though it is aspirant jihadists in the West who find it easiest to use. There was no evidence that Gul was being directed by foreign terrorist organizations to produce his material, and his case shows the continued existence of young Westerners producing radical material on their own. It may indeed be the case that the virtual armies have yet to fully emerge as active warriors...

List of webstites the DHS is monitoringAPPENDIX A Social Media Web Sites Monitored by the NOC This is a representative list of sites that the NOC will start to monitor in order to provide situational awareness and establish a common operating picture under this Initiative. Initial sites listed may link to other sites not listed. The NOC may also monitor those sites if they are within the scope of this Initiative. Collectahttp://collecta.comRSSOwlhttp://www.rssowl.org/Social Mentionhttp://socialmention.com/Spyhttp://www.spy.appspot.comWho’s Talkinhttp://www.whostalkin.com/Shrook RSS readerhttp://www.utsire.com/shrook/Huluhttp://www.hulu.comiReport.comhttp://www.ireport.com/Live Leakhttp://www.liveleak.com/Magmahttp://mag.ma/Time Tubehttp://www.dipity.com/mashups/timetubeVimeohttp://www.vimeo.comYoutubehttp://www.youtube.comMySpace Videohttp://vids.myspace.com/Maps Global Incident Maphttp://globalincidentmap.com/Google Flu Trendshttp://www.google.org/flutrends/Health Maphttp://www.healthmap.org/enIBISEYEhttp://www.ibiseye.com/Stormpulsehttp://www.stormpulse.com/Trends Maphttp://www.trendsmap.comPhotos Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/Picfoghttp://picfog.com/Twicsyhttp://www.twicsy.comTwitcapshttp://www.twitcaps.comTwitter/API Twitter/APIhttp://www.twitter.comTwitter Search Monitterhttp://www.monitter.com/Twazzuphttp://www.twazzup.com No Tweefindhttp://www.tweefind.com/ No Tweetgridhttp://tweetgrid.com/ No Tweetzihttp://tweetzi.com/ No Twitter Searchhttp://search.twitter.com/advancedTwitter Trends...

An online privacy group is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security accusing it of not releasing records from the agency's covert surveillance of Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. The DHS creates accounts solely to monitor social media sites and establish a system of records of the information gathered. The agency does not post information, seek to connect with other users, accept invitations to connect or interact with others according to a statement on their website. The agency scans social media sites for a list of words that include "dirty bomb," "hostage," "exercise," "task force," "explosion," "lockdown," "riot,"...

As'ad AbuKahlil—a political science professor at California State University, Stanislaus—spoke last month at a day-long "teach-in" at the University of California, Berkeley titled, "Building Solidarity with the Arab Spring." It consisted of a number of "workshop sessions" at the Valley Life Sciences Building, followed by a "plenary session" at the Multicultural Center, and was co-sponsored by the Arab Resource Organizing Committee, the Berkeley Muslim Students Association PAC, the International Socialist Organization, and the Syrian American Council. AbuKhalil's workshop on "The U.S. and the Arab Uprising" was held in a tiny, hot, windowless room filled with students wearing hijabs and keffiyehs....

Quote: homeland.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-jihadist-use-social-media-how-prevent-terrorism-and-preserve-innovation Subcommittee Hearing: Jihadist Use of Social Media - How to Prevent Terrorism and Preserve Innovation Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence | 311 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 | Dec 6, 2011 2:00pm On Tuesday, December 6, 2011 the Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence will hold a hearing entitled "Jihadist Use of Social Media - How to Prevent Terrorism and Preserve Innovation." The Committee will meet at 2:00 p.m. in 311 Cannon House Office Building. Witnesses Mr. Evan F. Kohlmann Flashpoint Global Partners Mr. William McCants Analyst Analyst for the Center for Naval...

Iranian protesters broke into the British embassy compound in Tehran, tearing down the flag and looting a portrait of The Queen. British officials said they were urgently trying to establish whereabouts of staff and the scope of the threat unleashed by the breach. Iranian hardliners had called for a demonstration against the embassy yesterday after the country adopted a law requiring the regime to throw out the British ambassador. Reports from the scene said that security forces had failed to secure the site as dozens of students stormed the British Embassy, bringing down the union flag and throwing documents from...

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A South Carolina man is accused of threatening the life of Gov. Nikki Haley on Facebook, but he claims he was only making a point about free speech. When 26-year-old Nathan Shafer heard about the arrests of 19 Occupy Columbia members outside the State House last Wednesday, he did what lots of people do when they get angry -- he vented about it on the Internet. He saw Gov. Haley's Facebook post about the arrests and Haley's comment that she "appreciate[s] freedom of speech," and that's when authorities say Shafer crossed the line. "I hope someone...

SNIPPET: "British Jihadi Anjem Choudary Tweets On March 19, 2011, British jihadi Anjem Choudary, spokesman for the banned Islam4UK organization, co-founder of Al-Muhajiroun, and spiritual advisor to the UK Islamist group Muslims Against Crusades (MAC),[18] launched a Twitter account and began tweeting. MAC made headlines last week for threatening a British MP who subsequently called on their activities to be closely monitored by law enforcement.[19] According to his Twitter account, Choudary is "a Muslim who believes that Islam is something we must believe in (Tawheed), live by (Shari'ah) and struggle and sacrifice for (by way of Daw'ah and Jihad)."[20] In...

SNIPPET: "In July, the British government warned that Al Qaeda’s exploitation of social networking websites is on the rise." SNIPPET: "The massive and multifarious network of websites and social media has presented a challenge to authorities in trying to combat it. Additionally, civil liberty concerns have conflicted with government efforts to spy on communications. Reducing terrorist activity on social media sites has been particularly difficult because users have adopted new forms of communication to conform with the new formats. Many Arabic speakers on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other sites use Arabizi, a form of colloquial Arabic written in the Latin...

The sad case of Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14-year-old gay kid who committed suicide after being bullied, has inspired Lady Gaga to try to get involved in the situation. She’s insisting that bullying be made illegal. Since she’s a spoiled pop star suggesting an idea that’s about as sensible as wearing a meat suit, she probably won’t have much luck with it. And she certainly shouldn’t.That being said, I have more empathy for Jamey Rodemeyer and other kids like him because I was bullied in high school and can tell you that it’s a horrible experience. Not only are you afraid...

Five foreign men were arrested during a courthouse break-in early on Wednesday and police said they found photographs of public buildings, water systems and malls from various U.S. cities in their van. The men, at least three of whom were in their 20s, will be questioned by a joint terrorism task force including the FBI and immigration authorities, officials said. Bexar County spokeswoman Laura Jesse said three men were found inside the 120-year-old Bexar County Courthouse, a landmark in downtown San Antonio and two in a large recreational vehicle parked in front of the building. She said all five were...

SNIPPET: "A day after a suicide bomb attack wounded 28 at a church in Indonesia..." SNIPPET: "While a suicide bomber struck Sepenuh Injil Bethel Church (translated as "Bethel Full Gospel Church") in Solo City in Central Java province Sunday morning, police found another bomb in front of Maranatha church in Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province, Monday. "This is in a series of bombs that we found there [in Ambon]," the Jakarta Globe newspaper quoted National Police spokesman Anton Bachrul Alam as saying. "All are homemade bombs, they are all similar. So the maker is the same.""

A 21-year-old Baltimore man has been arrested for attempting to blow up a military recruitment center in Catonsville with a fake bomb supplied by federal agents. Federal authorities say Antonio Martinez, also known as Muhammad Hussain, attempted to detonate what he believed to be a vehicle bomb this morning at the Armed Forces Career Center in the 5400 block of Baltimore National Pike. Court records paint Martinez as obsessed with Jihad and intent on punishing the military. He praised Nidal Hassan, the U.S. Army major who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, and discussed obtaining weapons and shooting up military...

SNIPPET: "The Interior Ministry says Spanish police have arrested a Cuban man suspected of belonging to al-Qaida. A ministry statement says the man was detained Monday on the Mediterranean Island of Mallorca."

"Salafist preacher and Internet activist indicted in Germany" September 13, 2011 SNIPPET: "Ibrahim Abou-Nagie, a salafi/jihadi preacher very active online, has been indicted in Cologne, Germany. Abou-Nagie, together with Abu Dujana of Bonn, operate as Die Wahre Religion (The True Religion). They are cited in multiple cases including those of the now-deceased Bekkay Harrach, and more recently Robert M. (arrested with an associate attempting to enter Britain whilst in possession of jihadist materials including Inspire magazine), not to mention Arid Uka, the Frankfurt shooter:"

(CNN) -- Two bodies dangling from a pedestrian bridge in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, created an image as gruesome as any in the four years of the country's offensive against the drug cartels. A man and a woman, both in their early 20s, were left hanging like cuts of meat. The woman was hogtied and disemboweled, her intestines protruding from three deep cuts on her abdomen. She was then hung from the bridge by her feet and hands, topless. The bloodied man was suspended next to her by his hands, his right shoulder severed so deeply you...