Makoto Hirata, a senior member of doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo and one of three remaining fugitives from the group, has
turned himself in to police after more than sixteen years on the run, leading to
questions about the timing of his surrender now, after all these years.
While Aum is best known as the group responsible for the
deadly sarin-gas attack on Tokyo's subway system that killed 13 people and injured more than 6000, Hirata is wanted on suspicion of taking part in a different crime, the
kidnapping and murder of Kiyoshi Kariya, the brother of an ex-Aum member who had left the group.
Despite the fact that police stations and koban (police boxes) throughout Japan have prominently displayed
wanted posters of the three Aum Shinrikyo fugitives for the past 16 years, Hirata had remained at large and hadn't had plastic surgery, leading to
police speculation that he must have been helped by others while on the run.
posted by Umami Dearest
on Jan 1, 2012 -
22 comments
If You're a Christian, Muslim or Jew - You are Wrong - A rant over at the
Huffington Post.
And let's be clear about this, it IS a rant, and a beaut at that. But it's a sentiment that's run through the head of everyone who isn't a member of the three mentioned groups. No one in the mainstream media says things like this, I wonder why?
The post is made. Let the emphatic agreements, and the vicious denials... begin!
posted by JHarris
on Oct 23, 2005 -
259 comments
The mind of the fundamentalist (streaming RealAudio) is an hour-long radio show featuring excerpts from talks given at a psychoanalytic psychotherapy conference in Sydney. Three speakers discuss experiences with fundamentalists, and driving factors behind their beliefs. It includes an amazing first-hand account of fundamentalist terrorism by a journalist whos plane was hijacked, and who later tracked down the hijacker and attempted to understand what drove him. The RealAudio-squeamish can find a
transcript here.
posted by Jimbob
on Apr 29, 2004 -
20 comments
After all the hoopla about increasing security, it seems that the requirement for biometric data to be included in passports of those entering the US from visa waiver countries will need to be
extended for two years to allow other countries to
catch up with the technology, as it seems most countries are
unable to meet the deadline. Some countries have put
on hold the new technology, while others seem committed to
going ahead with it, despite
doubts about the readiness of the technology. Of course, if civil liberties groups
get their way, the biometric passports may never see the
light of day. Specific religious issues
complicate the matter to some extent, also.
Given that, if the technology to produce biometric passports is available, will it really be that hard for forged passports to be created? Unless a massive world-wide database containing the biometric details of every person was used for data-matching, it is hard to see how these new measures will really make much difference to anyone apart from the companies selling the technology.
posted by dg
on Apr 26, 2004 -
4 comments
Did you criticize Jerry Falwell for his remarks partially
blaming the terrorist attacks on gay people, civil libertarians, people who believe in separation of church and state, and other people who aren't Christian fundamentalists? Then
you are Satan, according to a new fund-raising letter from Falwell's ministry caught by Americans United. People have shrugged off fanatacism like this from Falwell and his ilk for decades -- should we still?
posted by mdeatherage
on Oct 22, 2001 -
35 comments
