Grad student in Physics. yikes! Impressive. 
Posted on 06/10/2002 7:30:38 AM PDT by Dales
Grad student in Physics. yikes! Impressive.
Linear with constant coefficients? Pfft. Linear second-order differential equations with constant coefficients are for the kids on the short bus.
Well I reckon, but your kid is going to run into ideologies you don't dig his whole life. Being blissfully unattached and having no tricycle motors myself I can sit here and platitudinize til the cows come home about child-rearin' but I always thought it better to teach a kid critical thinking skills so he can handle bogusness... JMHO...
The probable target of Mujahir's plans to detonate the bomb was Washington, according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity. The plot was not believed to have passed the early planning stages.
Background - The Seeds of the Alliances 
Chicago street gangs emerged in the 1960's when a "youth group" called the Black P-Stone Rangers developed into a criminal organization.
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| Jeff Fort |
The group's leader, Jeff Fort, united the leaders of some 50 area street gangs into a single organization, calling it the Black P-Stone Nation.
The group was controlled by a 21-man commission, self-titled the "Main 21." The leaders projected the group as a socially conscious, self-help organization that would help uplift themselves and their community. 
As a result of this premise, the group sought and obtained $1.4 million in federal anti-poverty funds. These funds were then used to support the group's illegal activities. A federal grand jury uncovered the funds mismanagement and Jeff Fort was sent to federal prison.
The perceived success of Fort's Black P-Stone Nation resulted in the formation of many other street gangs, that claimed to be politically and socially motivated. Of the groups that surfaced, many dropped to a level of
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| David Barksdale |
Two very influential gangs, the Black Disciples, led by David Barksdale, and the Gangster Disciples, led by Larry Hoover, followed Fort's example and unified their gangs to form the Black Gangster Disciple Nation.
Throughout the 1970's, the Black P-Stone Nation and Black Gangster Disciple Nation controlled the Chicago drug trade and became bitter rivals expressing their anger by creating the bloodiest gang war in Chicago's history.
The Emergence of Alliances
Many of the leaders and members of the Chicago gangs ended up in federal and state correctional facilities. The increased number of individual gangs created a need for immediate visual gang identification that would enable members to distinguish allies from enemies among the prison population.
During the 1980's, within the prison walls, gangs began separating into alliances. The two alliance names that emerged were the People Nation and Folk Nation.
All gangs that were originally aligned with the Black P-Stone Nation aligned with People Nation.
Those that were originally aligned with the Black Gangster Disciple Nation aligned with the Folk Nation.
Many gangs or "sets," as they are called, are aligned with one of the two Chicago alliances. The more prevalent groups are shown below by alliance.
People Nation Sets |
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Folk Nation Sets |
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Here are some basic traits these alliances have in common.
Mentality and Philosophy
Rules and codes of conduct such as those mentioned above must be strictly followed. Those members who choose not to participate in a gang activity are subject to disciplinary action or "violations."
Violations can range from a beating, by fellow members for a given period of time, to death. Violation orders are often written out and signed by ranking members of the groups at their facility.
Violence associated with these groups is often disciplinary in nature.
URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/06/10/national1039EDT0560.DTL
(06-10) 07:39 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. government has arrested an alleged al Qaida terrorist who plotted to build and detonate a radiological "dirty" bomb, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Monday.
Ashcroft said Abdullah Al Mujahir was in the custody of the U.S. military and being treated as an enemy combatant, suggesting plans for the first military tribunal of an alleged terrorist.
The attorney general, who was in Moscow, made the announcement through a television hookup.
Ashcroft said Al Mujahir, also known as Jose Padilla, was arrested May 8 as he flew from Pakistan into Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
"We have disrupted an unfolding terrorist plot to attack the United States by exploding a radioactive dirty bomb," Ashcroft said.
Ashcroft said the government's suspicions about Mujahir's plans came from "multiple, independent, corroborating sources."
The attorney general said Mujahir had served prison time in the United States in the early 1990s, then traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan during 2001 and met with al Qaida officials. Ashcroft said Mujahir "trained with the enemy, including studying how to wire explosive devices and researching radiological dispersion devices."
Ashcroft said al Qaida apparently believed that Mujahir would be permitted to travel freely within the United States because of his U.S. citizenship and because he carried a U.S. passport.
The probable target of Mujahir's plans to detonate the bomb was Washington, according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity. The plot was not believed to have passed the early planning stages.
Another government official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the intelligence that led to Mujahir's arrest came from captured al Qaida leader Abu Zabaydah during recent interrogations.
The official said Mujahir is a former Chicago street gang member who served time in prison in the 1990s, converted to Islam and met with al-Qaeda leader in 2001 before returning to the United States.
Mujahir will be detained by the U.S. military as an "enemy combatant," the attorney general said, setting up the first military tribunal since the Sept. 11 attacks.
"We have acted with legal authority both under the laws of war and clear Supreme Court precedent, which establishes that the military may detain a United States citizen who has joined the enemy and has entered our country to carry out hostile acts," Ashcroft said.
More to the point, anybody can be anything. Not a ethnic question at all. Remember Johnny Taleban?
Critical thinking skills? You betcha. Let's build a foundation for belief then add the critical thinking skills though. At middle school (6th grade on) they can begin to truly look at things objectively. imo.
Curious, what makes you think that? Justice department and FBI are not going to be under the perview of Ridge. They will remain separate entities. I dont see a relationship. Now if Ridge had made the announcement...
The only terrorists left to do any possible damage are super stupid ala Richard Reid the shoe bomber....and this brain surgeon.
One thing I do not like regarding the time we find ourselves is that a great many educated ME families have returned home for the summer. I know a family that hotfooted it back to Egypt late last week. My dad, half-jokingly said to keep an eye on those folks. When they leave I might want to take it as my cue to take a little trip from the city. Not nice times.
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