Free Republic

31 December 2009 “LIKE DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN” SNIPPET: “There is overlap in space if not in time between NW 253 bomber Abdulmutallab and various unsavory characters and websites. Perhaps it’s just a case of like-minded people moving through similar places at similar times in their lives, but then again, maybe Abdulmutallab came into contact with some of these people, particularly in what appears to be his critical period of radicalization in London circa 2005-2007. At this point all I have are suspicions and some interesting data points to share.”

To put it mildly, Hamid Slimi is a busy man. The 38-year-old mosque leader at the International Muslims Organization in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke has multitasking down to a science. He pauses from putting up blood-drive posters to lead the evening prayer. He finishes chairing the green mosque meeting (the centre is going environmentally friendly), then races around the building trying to get anyone he sees to sell tickets to an upcoming charity dinner. He haggles with one of the volunteers: 30 tickets? 20? 10? "It's okay," he finally tells the volunteer, "I'm not a pushy person." But he...

DEWSBURY, England Police in Britain arrested a 21-year-old man and a 16-year-old youth as terrorist suspects, and were conducting searches at three locations, authorities said Wednesday. The man, who was identified only as a resident of Bradford, northern England, was arrested Tuesday night at Manchester airport, West Yorkshire Police said. Officers searched three houses in Bradford in connection with the arrest, police said. The police later said detectives also had arrested a 16-year-old in Dewsbury, near Bradford, as part of the same investigation. Police refused to comment on reports by the British Broadcasting Corp. that the arrests were linked to...

Six statements by a Georgia Tech student arrested on terrorism-related charges should be thrown out because of false promises and implied threats from investigators, the man's attorney said in court filings Thursday. Syed Haris Ahmed, 21, talked to FBI agents after being told he would not be arrested if he cooperated. Ahmed did talk — six interviews over a week's time — and then was arrested, his court-appointed attorney Jack Martin said. The agents also "prey[ed] on the defendant's devotion to Islam" to gain his trust and cooperation, he said. "Office [Khalid] Sediqui, who revealed that he was a devout...