MetaFilter posts tagged with Terrorist and Terrorism

Abu Nidal mystery solved

stbalbach — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:08:16 -0800

Remember Abu Nidal? The "Bin Laden" of the 70s and 80s, he mysteriously committed suicide in Baghdad on the eve of the 2003 invasion. New documents have come to light suggesting Nidal was working for the USA "trying to find evidence linking Saddam and al-Qa'ida." After the Iraqis discovered his collusion with US intelligence he was initially "interrogated". His end is recorded bleakly: "Upon being asked to accompany those charged with guarding him to a more secure location to continue the interrogation procedures, he requested that he be allowed to change his clothes. On entering his bedroom, he committed suicide. Unsuccessful attempts were made to resuscitate him ..."

Terrorism or fearmongering?

Dillonlikescookies — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 22:25:23 -0800

Tame Iti, Maori activist, is no stranger to controversy - with his full facial moko he has a face you won't soon forget. But is he a terrorist? Recently, the New Zealand Police force carried out a series of "raids" against a "training camp" in the north island, in the first use of the Terrorism Suppression Act, legislated in 2002. The act itself is not without it's critics but the country seems divided about the raids. Deluded extremists? Harmless Activist? or Real Threat? Some have claimed the raids are politically motivated, enacted by a police force with a declining public image. The whole case is racially loaded The "culture of fear" that is so written about seems to have trickled down somewhat, but time will tell whether it stays with the NZ public. By one account the camps are "amateurish" and with the exception of Tame Iti the most significant charge seems to be possession of a firearm without a license. The police, however, are certainly not helping matters - releasing information suggesting the group intended to start a "race war" and aimed to created an independent state through methods borrowed from the IRA, while keeping quiet on other details. Their press release here Troublesome, to me, is that the police also conducted a "non-raid" of the homes of environmental activists simultaneously, most notably in Christchurch, over a thousand kilometres away. I don't mean to start the thread with strong bent on it, but personally I find this worrying. New Zealand has had it's share of radicals, gun-wielding-forest-living cultists and so on, but the hype that this has reached in the media is unsettling. Worth noting, of course, is the Tuhoe tribe, of which Tame Iti is a member, with unresolved/ignored disputes with the government, which are a significant sticking point. Given this, and the harsh treatment of Tame Iti in regards to the flag protest, was further "radicalization" inevitable? Does the government have a responsibility, not so much to prevent radical groups from acting violently, but instead to incorporate them into public discourse rather than disenfranchise, and thus alienate them and antagonize them? Your thoughts?

a dark wind blows

Flashman — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:29:48 -0800

The car is on fire, and there's no driver at the wheel

Baby, You Can Drive My Car Bomb

jonp72 — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 11:36:25 -0800

The Poor Man's Air Force: A History of the Car Bomb Part 1 & Part 2. Written by Mike Davis, the two-part essay argues that the first car bomb was actually a horse-drawn carriage filled with dynamite that Italian anarchists used to blow up Wall Street in 1920. (more inside)

"Mr. Shady Nasser, a grad student at Harvard they found for me, was my Arabic consultant."

bardic — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 17:09:13 -0800

An interview with John Updike on Terrorist, his most recent novel. Some reviews: Kakutani, Donohue (USAToday), and fellow novelist Amitav Gosh (Wapo).

Terror and the language.

Neiltupper — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 10:08:00 -0800

I would have thought that these charges could fairly be represented as terrorism, yet in 108 links in Google News, there is no mention of "terror" or any of its derivations. Has the word been hijacked?

Movie plot threats

Afroblanco — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:00:47 -0800

Security expert (and personal hero) Bruce Schneier on the subject of movie plot threats : Sometimes it seems like the people in charge of homeland security spend too much time watching action movies. They defend against specific movie plots instead of against the broad threats of terrorism.

This month, Schneier announces a contest for readers of his blog and newsletter - submit the most unlikely, yet still plausible, terrorist attack scenarios you can come up with.

From the announcement : "The prize will be an autographed copy of Beyond Fear. And if I can swing it, a phone call with a real live movie producer."

Terror Network Visualization

srboisvert — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 02:30:14 -0800

Terror Network Visualization. An interactive flash visualiztion of known terrorist links

FAA space regulations

gunthersghost — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 19:39:42 -0800

Terrorists not allowed in space (the FAA would like to regulate commercial space flights)

Forever War

homunculus — Sat, 10 Sep 2005 22:17:42 -0800

Taking Stock of the Forever War. "A terrorist leader four years ago, Osama bin Laden is now an ideology as well — and a viral movement. Terrorist attacks worldwide are on the rise. Iraq could well end up a 'failed' state. Maybe it's time to stop fighting on their terms." Also, Osama bin Laden: Lost at Tora Bora. (bugmenot)

Al Qaeda Gets Online

fenriq — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 10:45:08 -0800

Al Qaeda Posts Online Magazine
Al Qaeda has, reportedly, published the first issue of an online magazine aimed at recruitment of Muslims to get rid of the infidels and apostates (Americans and Iraqi aides) in Iraq.
Washington-based counterterrorism specialist Evan Kohlmann said the magazine aims at 'conveying the sense that the organization is professional, capable, and really understands what they're doing."
It was designed as 'an attempt to refute the idea that Zarqawi and these people are desperate. . . . It shows that these people have time on their hands and don't have to worry about mobility," he said.

Sickening.

Vidiot — Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:22:10 -0800

Tragedy! Now at half price!

I think Lewis Black was right when he suggested that the last stage of grief isn't acceptance, but exploitation.

(And here's how to contact the outfit responsible.)

Flash Game - Bush Shoot-Out

joeadk — Sat, 28 Feb 2004 13:38:01 -0800

Flash Game - Bush Shoot-Out Starring President Bush and Condelezza Rice. Take on the terrorists and save the White House.

Maher Hawash Sentenced

Steve_at_Linnwood — Tue, 10 Feb 2004 09:59:47 -0800

Update: Maher "Mike" Hawash, former Intel software engineer, who was previously discused here & here, was sentenced in Federal court yesterday.

Of the five men sentanced, Maher recieved the lightest term of eight years.

9/11 report preview

jbou — Wed, 17 Dec 2003 16:39:41 -0800

9/11 report preview "As you read the report, you're going to have a pretty clear idea what wasn't done and what should have been done," he said. "This was not something that had to happen." We must wait till January for the full report.

Presidential Re-Election through fear mongering

jdaura — Thu, 31 Jul 2003 22:36:46 -0800

The Last Stage of Delirium Research Group (LSD-PLaNET) have posted code on the Internet that can allow hackers to exploit a previously disclosed vulnerability in Microsoft's Windows operating system. This kind of thing happens all the time. What never happened before is a widespread government and media panic perpetuating the buffer overrun threat as terroristic in nature, originating from the Department of Homeland Security and upsetting the gerneral public at large.

Misinterpreting Osama's Message: Erring on the Side of Danger

BentPenguin — Fri, 22 Nov 2002 12:00:21 -0800

Misinterpreting Osama's Message: Erring on the Side of Danger (via AlterNet) Bin Laden's messages are mistaken for unconditional threats and vows to attack. They are really conditional warnings that whatever we do, they will respond in kind. Some new insights from reading between the lines of OBL's communiques without lapsing into left wing apologia (More inside)

Dome-O-Rama — Fri, 04 Oct 2002 09:11:32 -0800

Falwell calls THE Mohammed a terrorist. But it's not the first time he's offered this sick, and truly twisted opinion. On his site we find this gem. How long will it take for his people to give up, and step back to let the snipers have a better shot?

hmgovt — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 10:02:22 -0800

If you have dignity, the terrorists have already won Ted Rall writes about the cheesification of 9/11.

rschram — Thu, 18 Jul 2002 23:46:00 -0800

'20th Hijacker' Offers Guilty Plea and Cooperation
He is charged with helping plan the September 11 attack. During his third arraignment on amended charges, Zacarias Moussaoui offered to enter a guilty plea. "For the guilt phase, I'm guilty," he told the judge. "But for the death penalty, we will see." You'd think in this day and age, it'd be hard to pull off a complete surprise. Moussaoui is representing himself.

tomcosgrave — Mon, 13 May 2002 05:03:50 -0800

"Terrorists plan July 4th attack in US" - claim
There are claims that terrorists linked to the al-Qaeda network are planning an attack on a US nuclear power plant to coincide with Independence Day celebrations.

laz-e-boy — Thu, 21 Mar 2002 07:16:33 -0800

Government raids pro-US Muslim organization? On Wednesday, federal agents raided Muslim organizations and homes in Virginia and Georgia, bearing search warrants looking for evidence of funding terrorist organizations. Ironically, the main target of the raids was the 20-year old International institute of Islamic Thought, an institution headed by Shaikh Dr. Taha Jaber al-Alawani, who, among other things, delivered a fatwa in October 2001 sanctioning American Muslim soldiers (.pdf) to participate in the War on Terrorism on Islamic religious grounds.

johnnyace — Fri, 04 Jan 2002 01:24:15 -0800

Skywriting "God is great" scares bejesus out of Palm Beach residents, assuming the message might be the beginning of a terrorist attack. Is this any different than skywriting "Allah is great," and would the pilot have been treated any differently?

tomcosgrave — Wed, 02 Jan 2002 12:23:01 -0800

Moussaoui appears on September 11th charges
Surprised not to see this posted, given the amount of coverage the attacks have been getting here at MeFi. "In the name of Allah, I do not have anything to plead," Mr Moussaoui, a French citizen said. "I enter no plea." The judge took this as a not guilty plea which was entered into the record.

BentPenguin — Sun, 04 Nov 2001 11:16:48 -0800

From the Sunday NY Times comes an article detailing an unprecedented roundup of Arabic people living in the US, some as naturalized citizens, but most under varying types of visas, (oftentimes lapsed). And release bonds are but non existent The gov's strategy seems to be to try to cast a wide net and scoop up as many "likelies" to put a wrench in "The Base's" homeland terror machine. Calling it "widescale racial profiling" like the well documented Japanese internments of WW2, defense lawyers and civil libertarians are getting constitutionally antsy about the roundup, which they say accellerated noticably after the 9/22 warnings of imminent attack. Is their alarm well founded or reflexive and hollow?