The
Casio F91W is a cheap, common digital watch which, as described by Casio themselves, has a "tried and true style great for casual wear". It has a fairly unremarkable set of features: water resistance, a light, an alarm and a calendar. There is, however, one undocumented feature that makes this particular watch special –
it can be used as evidence that you're a terrorist. More info at
Wikipedia.
posted by HaloMan
on Sep 28, 2008 -
43 comments
In the early days of the occupation of Iraq, a "gathering of antagonists to capital and empire" known as the Retort Collective published
Afflicted Powers, a contentious analysis of September 11th and its aftermath grounded in the Situationist concepts developed by
Guy Debord in
The Society of the Spectacle. Two lengthy excerpts can be read online: an
introduction to the war as a "struggle for mastery in the realm of the image", and a
critique of the "Blood for Oil" argument.
[more inside]
posted by stammer
on Sep 24, 2008 -
26 comments
Right at the Edge. "The Taliban and Al Qaeda have established a haven in Pakistan’s tribal areas along the Afghan border. This is where the war on terror wil be fought – and possibly lost."
posted by homunculus
on Sep 5, 2008 -
62 comments
Psych Securities LLC. "With future forecasts declaring ultimate doom from all components of the man-altered world, it seems there is a clog in the conduit of information transmitted between those in control and the public at large. Black Ops, psychological torture, acoustic weapons, Project Starfire, and a multitude of other state sponsored programs exist, well-hidden in plain sight, shrouded in a stigma of conspiracy and diluting any significant public inquiry. Psych Securities LLC is an ongoing exploration of this aforementioned covert reality, most clearly seen while in an alternative psychological state. By
compiling declassified documents, historical narratives, and psychedelic conjecture, a visual world is pieced together; undermining strategies of deception and
concealed truths."
[Via]
posted by homunculus
on Aug 18, 2008 -
40 comments
"Operation Northwoods [pdf]
, which had the written approval of the Chairman and every member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called for innocent people to be shot on American streets; for boats carrying refugees fleeing Cuba to be sunk on the high seas; for a wave of violent terrorism to be launched in Washington, D.C., Miami, and elsewhere. People would be framed for bombings they did not commit; planes would be hijacked. Using phony evidence, all of it would be blamed on Castro, thus giving Lemnitzer and his cabal the excuse, as well as the public and international backing, they needed to launch their war." [
YouTube]
[more inside]
posted by blue_beetle
on Aug 12, 2008 -
54 comments
Breaking anthrax attacks update: A new suspect, a US goverment expert on anthrax, kills himself as he's about to be arrested. Bruce Ivins
helped analyze the killer powder sent by mail in 2001 that killed five people and freaked out the US right after 9/11. The govt paid out $5.82 million just last month to former govt scientist
Steven Hatfill for wrongly targeting him in the investigation.
posted by CunningLinguist
on Jul 31, 2008 -
166 comments
The Department of Homeland Security has
expressed interest [PDFs] in forcing all commercial airline passengers to wear a taser bracelet that can be used to incapacitate anyone on an airline. This
video, from the company that will produce the bracelets, explains how the bracelet would be put on the passenger at the point that they clear security, and would not be removed until they leave secure areas. It would take the place of boarding passes, carry personal and biometric information about the passengers, track and monitor every passenger via GPS and shock the wearer on command, immobilizing him or her for several minutes. DHS official, Paul S. Ruwaldt of the Science and Technology Directorate, office of Research and Development is also excited about the possiblility of using it as an interrogation tool at airports. Ah freedom, who knew it smelled like burning flesh?
posted by dejah420
on Jul 12, 2008 -
146 comments
Pakistan’s Phantom Border. "Pakistan is often called the most dangerous country on earth. Increasingly, its people would agree. Despite nearly $6 billion in U.S. military aid for the border region since 9/11, the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and homegrown terrorist groups have eroded the border with Afghanistan, inflicting a steady toll of suicide bombings. Going where few Westerners dare—from Taliban strongholds to undercover-police headquarters—the author sees what’s tearing the country apart."
posted by homunculus
on Jun 22, 2008 -
24 comments
On June 22, 1985,
Air India flight 182 left Montreal en route to Delhi with 329 passengers aboard, most of them Canadian. Four hours later,
an explosion in the baggage compartment destroyed the plane, killing all on board. Premiering tonight on CBC television,
this documentary (trailer) recounts the final hours, days and weeks before the plane disappeared off Irish radar screens. It reveals the story of how Canada’s first major counter-terrorism operation failed to thwart the conspiracy and details the errors that resulted in the world’s most lethal act of aviation terrorism before Sept. 11.
(previously on MetaFilter) [more inside]
posted by netbros
on Jun 22, 2008 -
31 comments
On April 3, The Memphis Flyer ran a story describing a town hall meeting in Shelby County in which citizens were instructed on the art of finding a potential terrorist. Among the 'qualifications' are having a camera and taking pictures of well known or important structures.
posted by theichibun
on May 29, 2008 -
52 comments
Article in UK newspaper The Independent about two members of Nottingham University, U.K., Rizwaan Sabir and Hicham Yezza, who were arrested last week on terrorism charges and held for six days before being released without charge. The reason was that they had downloaded a terrorist manual from a US government website, which MA student Sabir needed for his research into terrorism, and which was approved by his supervisor. His friend Hicham Yezza, former student and current administrator at the university was arrested for helping to print out the 1500 page document. On release Yezza was then immediately rearrested on immigration charges and now faces imminent deportation, despite being a resident of the UK for 13 years and currently in the process of applying for citizenship. A
campaign is currently underway to prevent this.
[more inside]
posted by leibniz
on May 26, 2008 -
84 comments
Tul Karem’s refugee camp, the time, if I remember correctly, Chanukah 2003, it was to execute there about 9 people. Sorry, I don’t remember the pretense we were given for the mission.
From Shovrim Shtika or
Breaking the Silence where Israeli soldiers confess the horror they have visited on
Hebron
posted by adamvasco
on Apr 21, 2008 -
13 comments
The FBI Deputizes Business. "Today, more than 23,000 representatives of private industry are working quietly with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. The members of this rapidly growing group, called
InfraGard, receive secret warnings of terrorist threats before the public does—and, at least on one occasion, before elected officials. In return, they provide information to the government, which alarms the
ACLU. But there may be more to it than that. One business executive, who showed me his InfraGard card, told me they have permission to 'shoot to kill' in the event of martial law."
posted by homunculus
on Feb 9, 2008 -
70 comments
HR 1955 : The Internet has aided in facilitating violent radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown terrorism process in the United States by
providing access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda to United States citizens.
While the United States must continue its
vigilant efforts to combat international terrorism, it must also strengthen efforts to combat the threat posed by homegrown terrorists based and
operating within the United States.
posted by Huplescat
on Nov 20, 2007 -
45 comments
Pennsylvania polling places regarding September 08 elections to have everything but
voters.
posted by duende
on Oct 26, 2007 -
31 comments
