Posted on 01/01/2006 6:41:58 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
Weapons of Disruption
C 2006 Frederick J. Cowie, Ph.D.
Whereas we have no masses, it certainly would be seriously challenging to deliver a "weapon of mass destruction" in the vast majority of geographical areas in the American West, as well as in many areas in the East and South. For instance, Montana is approximately the size of Germany, yet the population hovers only around a million (we have one representative in the House). There is no "metropolitan" area anywhere around, though Spokane is about three hundred miles away. Wyoming has more sheep than people. Utah has Salt Lake City and a few nearby populous areas. Nevada has two populated regional areas, Las Vegas and Reno. North and South Dakota have, well, a few folks here and there. Idaho folks are few and far between. I swear you can drive from San Antonio to El Paso without seeing a city policeman, because I've done it several times. Then there are Arizona, New Mexico, eastern California, inter alia. The point is we have a few population points, while the rest of the states are empty excepted for isolated small communities.Thus, out West we probably need to talk more about "weapons of disruption." (Some folks say "weapons of mass disruption," but we have no masses!)
You must ask yourself: What would I do if I were a terrorist (or a terrorism preparedness instructor) looking into the ramifications of launching a rural terrorism attack? Personally, I would concentrate on considering the consequences of disruption rather than mass destruction. Here are a few scenarios you might want consider when your local rural emergency management/response group gathers to discuss terrorism exercises.
1) Wildland Fire Incidents: Incendiary (mostly wildland) warfare has been used by military strategists for at least 2500 years, over a thousand years before the use of gunpowder. The western U.S. is disrupted, seriously disrupted, every year by wildland fires. Quite a few are started by humans, accidentally and purposefully. Starting dozens of major fires in a dozen western states could be a brilliant line of attack if militants wished to disrupt America. Thousands of security personnel could do nothing and the perpetrator/s would probably never be implicated, much less captured. Are you prepared?
2) Railroad Chemical Incidents: Many railroad main lines go through tunnels. A few strategically placed armor-piercing shells in a series of chlorine cars, along with appropriately staged derailments leaving the leaking cars in the tunnels, could shut down many main line routes in the West. Spin-off scenarios are numerous. Ready?
3) Flammable Liquid Incidents: Bridges are not easily brought down from below and approaches to bridge support structures are often highly visible and randomly monitored. However, on CNN we all have seen many tanker truck accidents involving burning hydrocarbons which have made bridge structures unusable. How hard would it be to have a few terrorists steal trucks and drive them (as opposed to hijacking planes and flying them) to strategic bridges over wide rivers or narrow gorges, ignite the gasoline (or diesel or crude), block the approaches with other incendiary or chemical releases, and make the structures extremely dangerous and impassible to highway traffic? Gotcha!
There are many variations of these themes. You probably have or can make up many more plausible, novel, and easily implemented rural-specific attack scenarios. Design exercises around them. If you want to stop terrorist events you must think like a terrorist and quit fighting last year's war!
Peace, thanks, Fred
Please check out my website at fredcowie.com
To find recent presentations, Google (with quotation marks) "Fred Cowie"
Frederick J. (Fred) Cowie, Ph.D. E-mail: fredcowie@aol.com Phone: (24 hr cell) 406-431-3531 Website: fredcowie.com
Good night, Granny, and may God continue to take care of you!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1604944/posts?page=46
Officials: Water in Mass. Possibly Tainted
New York Times & AP ^ | March 28, 2006
Posted on 03/28/2006 3:58:31 PM MST by mathprof
Edited on 03/28/2006 3:59:24 PM MST by Admin Moderator. [history]
Residents of two towns were ordered to stop using water from their
taps after someone broke into the area's supply facility and left behind
a 5-gallon container that had an odor.
Officials stressed that there was no evidence the water supply had
been contaminated, but they ordered the halt to water use as a
precaution while the container and water were being tested.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Praying that each year is a better year for you Ruth.
Prayers ongoing.
Google Alert for: explosion
8 hurt in Davao bus explosion (12:40 pm)
Sun.Star - Philippines
DAVAO CITY (Updated)-- An explosion ripped through a passenger bus inside a
terminal in Digos City on Wednesday, slightly wounding at least eight people ...
See all stories on this topic
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Thank you to both of you.
My prayers go on for all the Freepers, you'all are special folks.
****************************** A ProMED-mail post = http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases = http://www.isid.org
[1] Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 From: ProMED-mail =promed@promedmail.org
Source: Aftenposten [edited]
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1260532.ece
Yet another person has been infected by the _Escherichia coli_ [O103 - Mod.LL] bacterium. This brings to 15 the number of Norwegians who've fallen ill, probably because they ate contaminated meat.
Norwegian health authorities reported on Mon 27 Mar 2006 that a man in his 30s from Hedmark County is being treated in a local hospital. He became ill with bloody diarrhea on 13 Mar 2006 [but has not] suffered kidney trouble like many of the other victims, most of them children.
The authorities aren't sure yet whether he also ate the sausage known as Sognemorr produced by Norwegian meat company Gilde, which has been identified as a source of the _E. coli_ bacteria. They hope to be able to interview him later in the day.
Even though the source of the contamination is believed to have been identified and publicized, and suspect meats withdrawn from stores, officials say they can't rule out more illness. The infection has an incubation time of up to a week.
****** [2] Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 From: ProMED-mail = promed@promedmail.org
Source: Norway Post [edited]
http://www.norwaypost.no/cgi-bin/norwaypost/imaker?id=23012
The dangerous _E. coli_ O103 bacteria which sent 14 children to hospital earlier in Mar 2006, has now been found in the cured sausage Sognemorr (spekepoelse) produced by Gilde. This has been announced by the Public Health Institute and the Food Inspectorate.
2 separate analyses of meat from unopened packages of Sognemorr, confirmed that the meat contained the _E. coli_ O103 bacterium.
The Food Inspectorate has since Mon 20 Mar 2006, suspected that cured sausage from the Gilde Terina plant in Sogndal has been the source of the _E. coli_ outbreak, and ordered the withdrawal of the sausage from shops.
Earlier the main suspect was ground beef from Gilde, and the Inspectorate has still not [ruled out that possibility]. However, it says this now seems a less likely source.
[byline: Rolleiv Solholm]
****** [3] Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 From: ProMED-mail = promed@promedmail.org
Source: UPI [edited]
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060320-040247-7579r
Norwegian officials who asked people to throw away ground beef this winter now believe an outbreak of the _E. coli_ [O103 - Mod. LL] bacterium is tied to specialty sausage meats.
Officials from Norway's Food Safety Authority say most of the people who have fallen ill ate sliced sausage called spekepolse, Aftenposten reported Mon, 20 Mar 2006. The sausage meats now under question are distributed throughout Norway.
Authorities believe the source of the _E. coli_ infections, which have left several children with kidney failure, is the Gilde Terina plant in Sogndal.
More than 60 per cent of the meat produced there is sold in the areas where most people have fallen ill, the newspaper said.
But food safety officials say they have not yet cleared Gilde's plant at Rudshogda, which produces the ground beef initially targeted as the source of the infection. A spokesman said more detailed information is expected this week.
-- ProMED-mail = promed@promedmail.org
[ProMED-mail posted the original report on the outbreak of verotoxin-producing _E. coli_ (VTEC) O103. This moderator has followed the subsequent reports over the past week that have implicated a spiced sausage produced by the same company at a different plant. It is possible that both meat products had a role in the outbreak. - Mod.LL]
[see also: E. coli VTEC non-O157, minced beef - Norway 20060304.0680 2005
Granny's note: of course I remember the man on trial, who talked of selling meat from a van on the street, in England, and said he added poison..................
Old Fashioned Tips!
Down to earth advice and inspiration...
from http://www.oldfashionedliving.com
March 28, 2006
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T O D A Y ' S Q U O T E
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Where flowers bloom so does hope.
~Lady Bird Johnson
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T O D A Y ' S T I P S
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HERBS 'N SPICES: SPRING TIPS
I walked out into my garden area this week and the chives
were peeking out, the winter savory looked great, and the
catmint was just starting to show new growth. I had to start
over last year when we moved, so I'm still adding to my herb
garden, but it was nice to see green! Today I have tips for
your herbs as spring continues.
Divide any larger clumps of your perennial herbs such as
lovage, catnip, mint, chives, thyme, sage, lemon balm, or
oregano.
Remember that some herbs like the mints and horseradish
can be invasive, so grow them in very large containers that
are buried in the ground if you need them to be contained.
I've grown many of the mints without a problem, but one
year I planted pineapple mint and didn't pay attention to it.
It took over the herb bed! Chocolate mint on the other hand
is easy to pull up each spring if it wanders over where you
don't want it to go. Horseradish roots are hard to dig up
because they are so long, so use the buried pot method to
contain it. By the way, if you want the horseradish a little
milder, try digging the root in the spring instead of waiting
til later in the summer or fall.
Once the frost has passed there are many herbs you can
direct sow. As I mentioned with vegetables, make sure you
work over the soil, and pick out the rocks and clumps before
sowing. Herbs that are fairly easy to grow from seed are: dill,
chives, calendula, basil, fennel (grow away from dill), salad
burnet, sweet cicely, nasturtium, borage, cilantro, cress and
more.
If you are just beginning with herb gardening, remember that
Mediterranean herbs such as oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme
and lavender prefer a dry, very well drained soil in a hot, sunny
location. Other herbs like mint, basil, parsley, lemon balm like
the soil fertile and are not as drought tolerant. Group together
herbs that like the same type of environment when planning out
your garden.
Don't forget, I have profiles with growing tips and recipes on
these herbs mentioned, and I'm adding more in the next few
weeks. Check the Garden Path index for the herb features:
http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/gardenpath.html
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T O D A Y ' S O F L R E S O U R C E
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
LAVENDER: White Flower Farm offers lavender plants
in several varieties, plus a special collection of six plants
that will begin blooming in late June or early July. Put
"Lavender Patch" in the search box to bring up the page.
You can also buy individual lavenders and potted plants!
http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/flowerfarm.html
You're welcome Ruth.
Prayer is powerful.
SAUDI ARABIA: TERROR ATTACK ON OIL REFINERY FOILED
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.281390501&par=0
Riyadh, 29 March (AKI) - Saudi security forces have thwarted a
terrorist attack on Saudi Arabia's largest oil refinery Abqaiq, the second in
two months, according to media reports. The Kuwaiti news agency KUNA and
the Iraqi Radio Nawa report that police discovered two car bombs in the
area. Local daily al-Riyadh reports that Saudi police on Tuesday
carried out house searches in the al-Mantar area of Abqaib, where some
employees of Saudi oil giant Aramco live, arms and explosive were discovered
in one of the homes and one man was arrested. Reports say that the
vehicles to be used in the attack bore the company logo.
On 24 February Saudi Arabian security forces opened fire on at least
two cars apparently commandeered by would-be suicide bombers, thwarting
an attack on the Abqaiq oil processing plant in the east of the country.
The cars exploded near gates leading to the facility, Saudi officials
said.
The oil output at the plant, the largest of its kind in the world, was
not affected by the incident, Saudi state television reported.
The attack is the first directed at crude oil facilities since al-Qaeda
militants launched a suicide bombing campaign against the Kingdom's
pro-Western leaders in May 2003. Abqaiq handles about two-thirds of
Saudi's petroleum output.
The attack came a year after al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden urged
supporters to hit oil targets in the Gulf.
Saudi security adviser Nawaf Obaid was quoted as saying that Saudi
security forces fired on three cars packed with explosives as they rammed
the outer gates of the facility, 1.5 kilometres from the main entrance.
He said the three cars exploded.
"Three cars rammed the first of the three sets of gates protecting
Abqaiq, and when security shot at them, all three cars exploded," Obaid
said.
Pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya said the attackers had been
killed. It added the cars they used had the logo of Saudi state-owned oil
company Aramco.
Saudi Arabia provides around a sixth of the world's oil exports,
supplying 7.5 million barrels a day.
In May 2003, at least 35 people were killed and 200 wounded in
suspected al-Qaeda suicide bombings on compounds in Riyadh.
A year later, militants attacked an oil company and housing compounds
in Khobar, then fled to the city's Oasis housing compound, taking
hostages. Seven Saudi policemen were killed.
(Ham/Fmk/Aki)
Mar-29-06 11:32
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\03\29\story_29-3-2006_pg1_5
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/images/shim.gif
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp?page=2006\03\29\story_29-3-2006_pg1_5
Jihad won't be removed from school curriculum: education minister
ISLAMABAD: The government will not remove the subject of jihad from the school curriculum, Education Minister Javed Ashraf Qazi said on Tuesday. The minister told reporters after a prize distribution ceremony at a school here that the government's new education policy will be implemented from 2007. "
Geography and history will be re-introduced in the new education policy that will be implemented in 2007," he said.
"We will teach Islamiat from class one to twelve."
The new syllabus will also include the subject of human rights, he added.
The minister said a census would be carried out to ascertain the literacy rate in Pakistan. "The results of a census regarding the literacy rate in the country will be available in June 2006," he said. He said students will be taught in both English and Urdu.
Science, maths and history will be taught in English and the other subjects in Urdu, he said.
My Groups |
global-anti-terror-news Main Page
Parliament calls for Christian convert to be kept in Afghanistan
(AFP)
29 March 2006
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/March/subcontinent_March1096.xml§ion=subcontinent
KABUL - Afghanistan's parliament on Wednesday said that a Christian convert seeking asylum abroad because he faces the death penalty
should not be allowed to "escape" the country.
The parliament agreed unamimously after a two-hour debate on the case of Abdul Rahman that a court decision to release him from trial
for apostasy was "contrary to the laws in place in Afghanistan."
"To prevent the escape of Rahman from Afghanistan, his leaving Afghanistan must be prohibited," said a summary of the debate read out
by speaker Yunus Qanooni and approved by MPs.
It was unclear if the parliament's decision was legally binding and whether it would actually bar Rahman from leaving Afghanistan if he was
offered asylum abroad.
Links to all the articles below:
http://news.google.com/news?client=googlet&q=hostage+&sa=N&tab=wn
Google Alert for: hostage
Hostage demand led to bodies
ic NorthWales - North Wales,UK
... Fifty-six-year-old Jorge Real Sierra (pictured right) allegedly asked for £8,000 to act
as a hostage negotiator - saying he would want more if the pair were ...
See all stories on this topic
3 men sought after holding 15 hostage during bank robbery in ...
Chicago Tribune - United States
Three men are being sought after they held 15 people hostage during a bank robbery
Tuesday morning in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. ...
Hostage in her own home Judge bars residents' access to home ...
Gallup Independent - Gallup,NM,USA
... Amber Evans, of the 100 block of Twin Buttes, said she feels like a hostage in her
own home because she has been unable to leave the residence since Friday ...
Gunmen take Iraqis hostage; pols end protest
Detroit Free Press - United States
... Iraqis said was a mosque. At least 16 people were killed in the assault, which freed an
Iraqi hostage. The United States has been ...
Town rallies to support gay hostage
PinkNews.co.uk - UK
Due to an influx of traffic regarding an earlier report on the return of hostage, James
Loney, from Iraq, PinkNews.co.uk is delighted to acknowledge the ...
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Hostage welcomed home
Jackson Clarion Ledger - Jackson,MS,USA
... arrived at Hawkins Field. Oswalt was one of nine employees of a Houston,
Texas-based oil company taken hostage on Feb. 18 by the ...
Praising God here, Granny.
He hears our prayers.
You're in mine every day.
Hugs for a great report.
http://www.startribune.com/10031/story/336754.html
http://www.startribune.com/
StarTribune.com WAR032906
Last update: March 28, 2006 - 8:14 PM
Standing for Islam
In Minnesota, an all-American attorney born in Pakistan has fielded floods of questions since the war began.
Pamela Miller, Star Tribune
When Sumbal Mahmud grows weary of people assuming she's non-American and calling her views on the Iraq war un-American, she's tempted to bring out her plaques.
The plaques, which laud her "all-American" mock-trial victories at Hamline University in St. Paul -- as well as other awards she won there, at Osseo High School and at the University of Minnesota Law School -- have come to stand for far more than the honors they chronicle.
"When someone wants to question how American I am, I can say, 'I played along with the best of them. I have these plaques to prove it,' " she said.
"All-American. That's me." Mahmud, 28, is the public face of the Islamic Center of Minnesota.
In the past few years, especially since the Iraq war began, she has faced challenges she could not have imagined back in the 1990s at Osseo High.
The challenges have strengthened her faith and have forced her to be more public about her convictions. At the same time, the spotlight she finds herself in makes her want to keep her most deeply held religious beliefs private.
And the challenges of the past three years have made it more difficult for her to speak freely -- in an All-American way -- about a war she abhors.
A faith viewed with suspicion The word Islam, Mahmud said, "comes from the root word 'sa la ma,' which means to surrender to the will of Allah and to peace.
"The very essence of war goes against my faith," she said. "That doesn't mean I might not believe in a cause."
But she wants to be able to speak against aggression without being labeled a terrorist. When Mahmud expresses her anti-war views in conversations with acquaintances and strangers, she said, she gets a stronger reaction than non-Muslim war opponents get.
"Many Muslim-Americans are actually afraid to speak out on the war," she said, her voice rising in indignation. "Can you believe it? To do that -- freely protest -- which is the most American thing, they are afraid!"
The war has also affected her expression of her faith.
The hostility of some non-Muslims makes her want to speak out, to defend and clarify Islam as a faith that at its core strongly stands for peace and freedom. And so she does, replying to each communication, as well as to friendly invitations to speak at churches and to civic groups.
Last year, she received an angry, anonymous e-mail about Muslims that she replied to with calm words. In a series of exchanges, she and the e-mailer found they had much in common and in fact had crossed paths during their legal careers. Finally, "We had a pretty good dialogue," she said. "The more we talk, the better."
Misunderstanding abounds Mahmud is a corporate attorney from Maple Grove. She was born in Pakistan and has no connection to Iraq; in fact, she has often dreamed of someday serving as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Yet somehow, since the war, she has become what she calls "the face of the Iraqi people" in Minnesota.
"Perhaps it's my scarf, or that I'm Muslim, or because people don't know what an Iraqi looks like, but sometimes I'm the closest thing they have got," she said. "I'm someone they can focus their dislike for the war on."
Minnesota's Muslim population is fast approaching 150,000, by some estimates. Mosques are springing up around the state. Because many Muslim women, including Mahmud, wear the hijab, they sometimes draw more attention, especially since the war began.
While a student at Hamline, she spent time at the United Nations undertaking research on female genital mutilation. She graduated with honors in 2000, and from the U law school in 2003.
While in law school, Mahmud spent a semester in the Netherlands.
"There's a big immigrant Turkish population in the Netherlands and Germany, and the Dutch would treat me like I was a Turk," she said. "Then they'd hear my English and say, 'Oh, you're from America! Come on in!'
"There, I was 'The American.' Here," she said wryly, "I'm 'The Pakistani.' "
Late last year, after a month of humanitarian work in quake-torn Pakistan in which she was again reminded that she is "an American -- a person of privilege," she accepted a job as associate corporate counsel for a Twin Cities corporation.
It's been a stellar career path. But outside of work, she is constantly reminded of how life has changed for her, and for all American Muslims.
A woman in a hijab, a man who speaks Arabic, sometimes anyone with a Middle Eastern look often get a cold shoulder from passersby. And yet, she said, "they might have lived in America all their lives."
An elected representative In 2003, Mahmud was elected to a three-year term as communications director for the Islamic Center. It's not an easy job. Questions pour in, always urgent, sometimes loaded, often downright ignorant. Mahmud answers them all, even the anonymous ones that flood in after any event that involves Muslims: a bombing in Israel or Iraq, riots in Europe over Mohammed cartoons, a particularly bloody twist in the war.
"Muslims in America have been forced to become spokespeople for our faith," she said. "One of the criticisms we heard after 9/11 is that our leaders didn't come forward to say what happened was wrong. It was unimaginable with something so horrific that someone had to articulate that."
Her faith teaches that she is not accountable for the sins of others, she said. But since 9/11, she has realized that "American culture demands vocalization of the obvious."
Increasingly, people are listening, she said. Churches call on her to speak to their congregations.
"I have to turn down church invitations, there are so many," she said. "I'm in church more often than I'm in a mosque."
But she also realizes that those aren't the people who most need to hear her message. "If they're in church and inviting me to come speak to them, I'm preaching to the choir," she said.
War's long shadow
The war in Iraq has brought more attention to the Islamic Center, and to Mahmud. People ask her unanswerable questions, such as "How does a suicide bomber think?"
"I turn that back on them," she said. "If they're male, I say, 'You're a male; tell me how a rapist feels or thinks.' "
She encounters the most reminders that some consider her un-American when she expresses her own dismay at the war.
"My pacifism and my faith are interrelated," she said.
"Fourteen hundred years before the Geneva Convention, Islam taught some simple rules of war. For instance: You can't attack a civilian. ... If I am in your country and displace a tree, I am obligated to replace the tree."
As a pacifist, a Muslim, and a feminist, she said, "The idea of civilians as 'collateral damage' is mind-boggling."
The war has unearthed another issue, she said -- suspicion of disloyalty. "I joke with my friends on the phone; I say, 'Our friends at the NSA [National Security Agency] are probably monitoring us.' Then I think -- I'm the communications director for a large Muslim organization. I wouldn't be surprised if someone were listening."
She worries about the erosion of civil liberties in the United States -- not just for Muslims, but for everyone.
"What distinguishes us as a country is the rights afforded to our citizens," she said. "If those are being eroded to fight the so-called war on terrorism, then we will become no better than those we are fighting."
Teaching the children well What brightens her eyes and brings out her public faith and hope, is her Sunday school class at the Islamic Center, a rainbow of Muslim ninth-graders from around the world.
"After 9/11, our classroom changed," she said. "Instead of talking about what happened 1,300 years ago, now we talk about current events. ... We talk about what's the proper response to questions, why nonviolence is best."
Mahmud said that she holds out hope that her students will live in a country that does not prejudge or fear them.
"Since the war, yes, more explaining has been expected of us," she said.
"But the fact that someone is looking to us -- maybe that's an opening for dialogue, a window to reach each other."
Most people, she said, are genuinely curious when they ask questions.
"All we have to do is be a little forthright, hopefully in a nonconfrontational way."
It is, as she points out, the All-American way.
Pamela Miller . 612-673-4290 C2006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
http://nmminneapolis.112.2o7.net/b/ss/nmminneapolis/1/G.5--NS/0?pageName=Living%20with%20the%20War&server=www&channel=news&c1=http://www.startribune.com/10031/v-print/story/336754.html&c2=&c3=story&c4=&c5=&c6=MN|ST|News&c7=news_general&c8=&c9=&c10=
Thank you...
I have attempted to convince Dr. Jim to become a Freeper,
and reminded him, that Freeper prayers were powerful, while
we looked at the x-rays.
He was as surprised, as I was........
Prayers continue from here........always.
Thank you. The average American knows more ways to take down our country than they do. We need to keep our mouths shut.
Bragging, boasting, showing our behinds about how good we would be at their "job", helps them...
If terrorists were innovative thinkers, their home countries wouldn't be so backward.
Great news Ruth, I am so happy to hear it.
Lord knows we need a bit of good news these days.
Keep up the good work on the thread. Maybe we should just name the new one Granny's War On Terrorism!
Very pleased to hear your report of improving health, Ruth. For some odd reason, I can actually picture you on a motorcycle. Be sure to take Dr. Jim up on that ride. Maybe you could ride to Sturgis (So. Dak.)for the Harley Rally. I could be your tour guide and show you my beautiful Black Hills.
Continued prayers.
March 29, 2006 Anti-Terrorism News
(Philippines) Bus bombing injures 17
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18646206-23109,00.html
Bomb exploded on a bus in the southern Philippines Wednesday, injuring
17 people
Saudi Arabia: (Second) Terror Attack on Oil Refinery Foiled
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.281390501&par=0
Thwarted attack on Saudi Arabia's largest oil refinery Abqaiq, the
second in two months; car bombs found in vehicles with Aramco logo,
explosives and arms found in home where employees live.
Gunmen Kill Eight Workers at Iraqi Firm
http://interestalert.com/story/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/03290008aaa007f0.ap&Sys=siteia&Fid=WORLDNEW&Type=News&Filter=World%20News
Gunmen lined up 14 employees working at an electronics trading company
in Baghdad Wednesday morning and shot them all, killing eight and
wounding six
Attack at Afghan Military Base Kills 14
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AFGHAN_VIOLENCE?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME
Militants attacked a coalition forces base in southern Afghanistan on
Wednesday, sparking a battle that killed two soldiers - an American and
a Canadian - and at least 12 rebels
Parliament calls for Christian convert to be kept in Afghanistan
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/March/subcontinent_March1096.xml§ion=subcontinent
Afghanistan's parliament on Wednesday said that a Christian convert
seeking asylum abroad should not be allowed to "escape" the country
(Israel) Haredi unit captures man wearing explosive belt
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1143498762094&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Indian police say they have captured top Kashmir rebel
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/March/subcontinent_March1092.xml§ion=subcontinent
(North Carolina) Commentary: Killing for Allah
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21831
Mohammed Reza Taheri-Azar SUV attack case
U.S. agrees to issue Abu Ghraib images
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/28/abu.ghraib/index.html
Defense Department withdraws appeal challenging ACLU request
Secret Camps Offer Operational Courses in Jihad Tactics
http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2369943
Recent posting on jihadi forum provides insight about current
conditions and priorities in terrorist training
(Bangladesh) Three more JMB men arrested
http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/03/29/d60329100284.htm
Lutfur Rahman, elder brother of a most-wanted regional JMB commander,
among those captured
To leaders of Bangladesh, terrorism is a foreign worry
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060329.wxbangla29/BNStory/International/home
Even officials who have been threatened deny groups have wide, domestic
support
Nineteen Muslim teachers held in restive Thai south
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-03-28T112000Z_01_BKK339857_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-THAILAND.xml&archi
Moussaoui offered to testify against himself
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12036777/
Defense in death-penalty trial rests after bizarre revelation
Iraq raid dispute threatens to draw US into sectarian conflict
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0328/dailyUpdate.html
Suspects Nabbed, Hostages Rescued, Iraqi Army Arrives in Ramadi
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2006/20060328_4633.html
DOD press release
Palestinian Militants Reportedly Fire Russian-made Rocket at Israel on
Election Day
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/03/29/gradrocket.shtml
Palestinian Islamic Jihad said it launched a Russian-made rocket at
Israel during elections on Tuesday, causing no casualties.
'Dirty bombs' called threat to shipping
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060329-120348-7524r.htm
The marine shipping industry will be devastated if foreign countries do
not increase cargo screenings to protect against a "dirty bomb"
terrorist attack, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is telling
Asian officials this week.
9-11 panel chief: U.S. at risk of terror nukes
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49479
Tom Kean: 'The size of the problem still totally dwarfs the policy
response'
Water in Massachusetts possibly tainted
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/03/28/D8GKSFCOB.html
Someone broke into area's H2O facility, left behind 5-gallon container
Lebanese president praises Hezbollah
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1143498761203&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(Australia) New Indonesia travel warning
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18647070%255E1702,00.html
Liberian warlord Charles Taylor captured
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12061353/
Nigeria's president orders his return to Liberia to face war crimes
charges
17 Colombian rebels killed in pre-election clashes
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060328/3/2i4cw.html
At least 17 FARC terrorists killed in gunfights with army on Monday
night and Tuesday
[a post for study and reseach]
Serious or suicidal?
by Thomas Sowell
When you are boating on the Niagara River, there are signs marking the
point
at which you must go ashore or else you will be sucked over the
falls. With Iran moving toward the development of nuclear weapons, we
are
getting dangerously close to that fatal point of no return on the world
stage.
Yet there are few signs of alarm in our public discourse, whether among
politicians, the media, or the intelligentsia. There is much more
discussion of whether government anti- terrorism agents should be able
to
look at the records of books borrowed from public libraries.
The Iranian government itself is giving us the clearest evidence of
what a
nuclear Iran would mean, with its fanatical hate-filled declarations
about wanting to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. But send not to
know
for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.
Just last year, before the American election, Osama bin Laden warned
that
those places that voted for the re-election of the President would
become targets of terrorist retribution.
We could ignore him then. But neither we, nor our children, nor our
children's children will ever be able to ignore him again if he gets
nuclear
weapons from a nuclear Iran.
We will live at his mercy -- of which he has none -- if he can wipe out
New
York or Chicago if we do not knuckle under to his demands, however
outrageous those demands might be.
We will truly have passed the point of no return. What will future
generations think of us, that we drifted on past the warning signs,
preoccupied with library records and with giving foreign terrorists the
same
legal rights as American citizens?
We could deter the nuclear power of the Soviet Union with our own
nuclear
power. But you cannot deter suicidal terrorists. You can only kill them
or
stop them from getting what they need to kill you.
We are killing them in Iraq, though our media seem wholly uninterested
in
that part of the story, just as they seem uninterested in the fact
that the fate of Western civilization may be at stake just across the
border
in Iran.
Of course they would like us to prevent Iran from going nuclear -- if
it can
be done nicely by diplomacy, with the approval of the U.N., and in
ways that do not offend "world opinion."
It is as if we were on the Niagara River and wanted to go ashore before
it
was too late, but did not want to turn on the motors for fear of
disturbing the neighbors with excessive noise.
But at that point, the choice is between being serious or being
suicidal.
That is where we are internationally today. Many years ago, there was a
book
with the title "The Suicide of the West." It may have been ahead of its
time.
The squeamishness, indecision, and wishful thinking of the West are its
greatest dangers because the West has the power to destroy any other
danger.
But it does not have the will.
Partly this is because most of our Western allies have been sheltered
from
the brutal realities of the international jungle for more than half a
century under the American nuclear umbrella.
People insulated from dangers for generations can indulge themselves in
the
illusion that there are no dangers -- as much of Western Europe has.
This is part of the "world opinion" that makes us hesitant to take any
decisive action to prevent a nightmare scenario of nuclear weapons in
the
hands of hate-filled fanatics.
Do not look for Europe to support any decisive action against Iran. But
look
for much of their intelligentsia, and much of our own intelligentsia as
well, to be alert for any opportunity to wax morally superior if we do
act.
They will be able to think of all sorts of nicer alternatives to taking
out
Iran's nuclear development sites. They will be able to come up with all
sorts of abstract arguments and moral equivalence, such as: Other
countries
have nuclear weapons. Why not Iran?
Debating abstract questions is much easier than confronting concrete
and
often brutal alternatives. The big question is whether we are serious
or
suicidal.
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/thomassowell/2006/01/02/180776.html
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/thomassowell/2006/01/02/180776.html
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