tagged w/ Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
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Kobe Bryant looking like a f**king fa**ot in this photo by Ruven Afandor.
Kobe Bryant did the unthinkable. In a moment of heated passion and utter annoyance at a play on a basketball court, he spewed the two words that no homosexual likes to hear. This quickly became GLAAD’s call to arms, rainbow flag in hand, crying (with tears) foul. There was a time that simply the F-word was taboo extraordinaire on the courts with penalties mounting as the inner city kids were taking over the sport. This recent Kobe-Gate multiplies the drama times two because when he screamed F**cking Fa**ot, he was not just whistling Dixie. It was a double entendre and you had two no-no’s for the price of one.
As a homosexual Jew who would have slaughter in minutes by the Nazis and a few current Republicans, I would like to draw a line in the sand and say that it is OK to cross it. We all say words that we do not mean literally. As the world become beyond homogenized and political correctness traps up into a frozen state of not knowing what to say, I say let bygones be bygones and just don’t make a habit of it. A year ago I wrote a piece called The End of Political Correctness and to this day, I think it still holds true. Frankly, things never will change. There will be N-words and F-words till Judgment Day, so why judge people for a slip of the tongue? A slap on the wrist , rather, a slap on the ass is the appropriate penalty here.
Here is what I wrote on April 2, 2010:
Over the last few decades, we have become curiously, annoyingly and extremely politically correct and certain words have become absolutely taboo. That which was once acceptable is now considered offensive and there are times when you just don’t know what to say for fear of offending anyone or everyone around you. In the early 1970s, I was bussed to an all–black high school. “Black” was the acceptable term then, whereas now, “African-American” is the new black, replacing what was once the new “colored”. My ancestors are from Russia and Poland, do I walk around saying I am Russian-American, or worse, Polish-American? We are caught in the quagmire of what is the “right thing to say” and quite frankly, I see no light at the end of this tunnel – not even a glimmer.
The expression “politically correct” or “political correctness” can be traced back to 1920s Germany, when communist academia sought to impose their views on students. The term became more frequently used in the 1960s and 1970s by suburban bleeding-heart liberals, feminists and progressives who were intent on impacting the media, while leaving an emotional imprint on the Baby Boomer generation. As Boomers became adults, they clung on to the notion of being “politically correct”, however, adapting some of the initial ideas to surprisingly new and often meticulously planed-out hidden agendas.
What we now have is a wide-ranging group of hypocrites in charge of the media and most industries, where everyone is expected to play nice in the sandbox. The climate of corporate politics suggests that you “keep your head down” while those in higher positions, do as they please regarding dubious hiring practices, stealing, or worse, illegal activities as in the case of the banking culture and while I am at it, the Catholic Church. I refer to this group as the “nouveaux-hypocritical”. In light of the recent attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day in Detroit by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (a.k.a. “The Underwear Bomber”), there’s a renewed outcry for stricter airport screening regarding “certain types”, or, as it is more commonly referred to, racial profiling. Then again, at the risk of sounding like a total bigot, is that actually such a bad idea? The Muslim Public Affairs Council calls racial profiling unconstitutional. But from where I’m sitting, it is equally unconstitutional to sew explosives into your Calvins to bring a plane down on Christmas Day.
When Richard Reid (a.k.a. “The Shoe Bomber”) was captured, we automatically started checking everyone’s shoes… even old ladies’ with large, unsightly corns. Umar’s bomb was hidden in his underwear, so now what? Will security guards start pulling down our pants? Random wedgies? There’s some fancy detective work for you. Isn’t it easier to identify a certain type of individual that we can all look at cross-eyed? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is claiming invasion of privacy and rejecting the controversial full body scans. Feel free to check out my ass in order to secure safe passage. How about that recent case in Saudi Arabia where the Al-Qaeda member had an explosive stashed in his anal cavity. What next, proctologists moonlighting for the sake of airport security? Immediately after 9-11, while working with a writer on her promotional book tour, we had to continue the planned nine-city schedule. This involved several plane rides, one of which was to Kentucky, where one of the reported terrorists had lived. Believe me, we were doing our own version of racial profiling aplenty. It was more anecdotal than a serious bid to rid evildoers, but I found much comfort in giving the evil eye to a host of “certain-types”. Was I being politically incorrect? Thank you.
To see the list of things you simply cannot say…
There are expressions that you can no longer say and on the same token things that you have to say…or else! Here is a list of the most important ones, to ensure you stay politically correct in these confusing times:
1. Worldwide no-no is the N-word.
2. People with intellectual disabilities no longer can be called Retarded. Whereas I find it most applicable in the case of Umar, that retarded member of the Lucky Sperm Club who tried blowing up Flight 253 on Christmas Day.
3. African-American, Asian-American, Latino-American, Corporate-American.
4. Child-Obesity is the politically correct term for Fat Kid these days. As an ex-fatty, call me fatso any day over “You obese baboon”.
5. Tranny hookers now must be referred to as Transgender Sex Workers. As a past resident of the Meatpacking District in New York City back in the 1990’s, I can assure you; “tranny hooker” is how they referred to themselves. It was the uber-political correct LGBT Community Center that put that glamorous title onto them and consequently killed their business.
6. Homosexuals became really Gay around the time of the Stonewall Riots in the 1969, birthing the Gay Rights movement. Whereas in England, Fags are the correct term for cigarettes.
7. The women’s equality movement escalated in the 1970’s demanding equal pay for equal work, which also birthed the Bitch in the Workplace.
8. Midgets must now be referred to as Little People, even in the Wonderful Land of Oz and Munchkin Land.
9. Secretaries needed an ego boost and the only option was a title as opposed to a raise, so they settled for Administrative Assistant, which sure beats Mistress.
10. Housewives once they heard that their husband’s secretaries were getting a verbal promotion, quickly jumped on the bandwagon and demanded to be called Domestic Engineers. Those who survive Fucked Up Upbringings, which is most of us, can now say we came from Dysfunctional Families.
11. Someone Crippled became Handicapped, which evolved into Disabled and now is officially Physically Challenged…until that will be simply unacceptable.
Now matter what you say or do, there is always a 50% chance that you will be utterly, terribly and embarrassingly wrong. So, either we just stop talking and communicating altogether or rather, say whatever we want and let the chips fall where they may.
Read more: http://imeanwhat.com/canyoubelieve/kobe-minced-meat-bryant#ixzz1JWKSDSDoKobe Bryant looking like a f**king fa**ot in this photo by Ruven Afandor.
Kobe... more
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NBC New York has reported the announcement that full body scanners will soon descend on JFK, Newark and LaGuardia airports, the major transportation hubs of the New York City metropolitan area.
However, an informal poll on NBC NY’s website shows that more than 70% of its local readers are “furious” at the announcement. Another 3% described their reaction as “sad.” Only 14% demonstrated any support for the measure. The overwhelming negative reaction is all the more telling in the context of NBC NY, an affiliate and very mainstream source that likely draws very typical readers. The response demonstrates a rejection of a technology that many critics say is an invasion of privacy, violates the 4th Amendment and may pose health risks.
After nine years of the so-called “War on Terror,” the TSA is fighting a public relations war to maintain support from increasingly frustrated passengers who must now cooperate with the additional measure of scanning.
The poll is a continued indicator that widespread opposition to the use of ‘naked’ body scanners is on the rise. A series of reports show that the technology is insufficiently tested, is likely to prove ineffective, violates privacy, Constitutional rights & child porn laws, and may pose serious health risks, including cancer.
But the fear of harassment proves even more troubling than the dangers of the machine itself. The TSA has been caught lying about the fact that body scanners store a naked image of passengers’ bodies, despite previously claiming no image was stored. The “exposure” factor was also highlighted when a TSA employee attacked his co-worker after repeated jokes about his penis size prompted by daily displays of his genitals on the scanner’s monitor. Another TSA agent was arrested for substance abuse after declaring “I am God, I’m in charge.” Still another TSA agent was arrested after allegedly groping a 15-year old girl whom he’d asked to be his “sex slave.” Actress Christine Ebersole told Alex Jones in an April 2010 interview about a TSA encounter where she was partially strip-searched, touched and made to feel violated.
As for the dangers, scientists exposed the fact that airport body scanners are emitting 20x the radiation experts previously thought were occurring. Thus, they have warned that airport scanning increases the potential for cancer, particularly for certain types of skin cancer. Cumulative-radiation overdosing is also a potential risk for frequent flyers.
The New York Times recently exposed a growing problem of radiation-overdosing in medical and dental fields. CT scanners and other radiation-blasting scanning technologies have been shown to cause an increase in cancer and potential brain damage, despite the fact that that they are manned by high-trained medical staff– which is not the case with TSA employees who operate body scanners.
Despite the PR push-from-the-top for body scanner implementation, many government and “official” bodies have objected to the technology and either spoken out or moved to block its widespread use in policy:
• Only a few weeks ago, USA Today reported on a “growing backlash” against the use of full body scanners in airports. Citing concerns over privacy and dangers from the high-frequency x-rays, the article also identified a European Commission report demanding testing for health risks, as well as a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report claiming that the machines were not sufficiently tested and that its potential to detect ‘threat items’ “remains unclear.” Moreover, the GAO stated:
On March 17, 2010, the GAO issued its own report on the scanners. In the report, the GAO states that the body scanners, also known as advanced imaging technology (AIT), might not have the capability to detect the type of explosive that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly had sewn in his underpants.
• Complimenting this failure in potential detection is the fact that TSA has scored “0″ catches in the War on Terror. In May, CBS News questioned whether TSA’s behavior detection program was a $200 million sham, as the program has to-date failed to identify or stop even one single “terrorist.”
• The European Parliament, for their part, voted down a measure to implement the scanners in 2008.
• Concern has been raised in the UK about the scanners’ potential to violate child indecency laws.
• The Islamic Human Rights Commission have also recently opposed the use of body scanners in the UK.
• In March, Idaho’s state legislation passed a house bill restricting use of full body imaging in its state’s airports. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, called the technology “an unreasonable search” and further questioned the medical risks:
“What if they harm our bodies? What if they’re not medically sound? What if they’re going to cause cancer sometime down the road?”
• Back in January, the ACLU and Congressmen like Rep. Jason Chaffetz voiced opposition to the “virtual strip searches” and attempted to limit the use of body scanners in a bill that ultimately failed. Chaffetz stated in January 2010:
“We don’t need to look at naked 8-year-olds and grandmothers to secure airplanes,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said last week. “I think it’s a false argument to say we have to give up all of our personal privacy in order to have security.”
Widespread opposition is a good sign that Americans have had enough of the nearly-decade long phony “War on Terror” and the violations of civil liberties that comes with it. Recent polls also show that Americans are tired of seemingly never-ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has spilled over into Pakistan and other regions, and now threatens to spark war in Iran.
Despite opposition and potential risks, NBC NY reports that the TSA will continue to roll-out machines across the country:
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has spent more than $80 million for about 500 machines, including 133 now at airports. It plans to install about 1,000 by the end of next year.
Sadly, the technology is also expanding to checkpoints on subways, highways, in court rooms and other locations.
New York state recently announced the use of National Guard to search vehicles for drugs and guns using high-powered gamma radiation mobile scanning-units on highway checkpoints.NBC New York has reported the announcement that full body scanners will soon descend... more
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Over the last few decades, we have become curiously, annoyingly and extremely politically correct and certain words have become absolutely taboo. That which was once acceptable is now considered offensive and there are times when you just don’t know what to say for fear of offending anyone or everyone around you. In the early 1970s, I was bussed to an all–black high school. “Black” was the acceptable term then, whereas now, “African-American” is the new black, replacing what was once the new “colored”. My ancestors are from Russia and Poland, do I walk around saying I am Russian-American, or worse, Polish-American? We are caught in the quagmire of what is the “right thing to say” and quite frankly, I see no light at the end of this tunnel – not even a glimmer.
What we now have is a wide-ranging group of hypocrites in charge of the media and most industries, where everyone is expected to play nice in the sandbox. The climate of corporate politics suggests that you “keep your head down” while those in higher positions, do as they please regarding dubious hiring practices, stealing, or worse, illegal activities as in the case of the banking culture and while I am at it, the Catholic Church. I refer to this group as the “nouveaux-hypocritical”. In light of the recent attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day in Detroit by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (a.k.a. “The Underwear Bomber”), there’s a renewed outcry for stricter airport screening regarding “certain types”, or, as it is more commonly referred to, racial profiling. Then again, at the risk of sounding like a total bigot, is that actually such a bad idea? The Muslim Public Affairs Council calls racial profiling unconstitutional. But from where I’m sitting, it is equally unconstitutional to sew explosives into your Calvins to bring a plane down on Christmas Day.
When Richard Reid (a.k.a. “The Shoe Bomber”) was captured, we automatically started checking everyone’s shoes… even old ladies’ with large, unsightly corns. Umar’s bomb was hidden in his underwear, so now what? Will security guards start pulling down our pants? Random wedgies? There’s some fancy detective work for you. Isn’t it easier to identify a certain type of individual that we can all look at cross-eyed? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is claiming invasion of privacy and rejecting the controversial full body scans. Feel free to check out my ass in order to secure safe passage. How about that recent case in Saudi Arabia where the Al-Qaeda member had an explosive stashed in his anal cavity. What next, proctologists moonlighting for the sake of airport security? Immediately after 9-11, while working with a writer on her promotional book tour, we had to continue the planned nine-city schedule. This involved several plane rides, one of which was to Kentucky, where one of the reported terrorists had lived. Believe me, we were doing our own version of racial profiling aplenty. It was more anecdotal than a serious bid to rid evildoers, but I found much comfort in giving the evil eye to a host of “certain-types”. Was I being politically incorrect? Thank you.
To see the list of things you simply cannot say…
When Oscar de la Renta said, “You don’t go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater” after Michelle Obama wore exactly that while visiting the Queen of England, it was the day the fashion planet came to a standstill in shock and awe. Political incorrectness hit an all time high. During the presidential campaign, the fashion brigades declared Michelle Obama the next Jackie O. I never got that comparison from the get go. Did that make her more palatable somehow? Was she now the “politically correct” wife? Every designer, editor and publicist started tripping over themselves to schmooze their way into the good graces of the Obama camp and into Michelle’s closet. But here is where political correctness got in the way of why Michelle Obama was amazing way before Vogue’s André Leon Talley introduced her to “fashion society”. The fashion industry was thrust on Michelle for publicity but what makes her so dynamic has nothing to do with frocks. That was Jackie’s strength. Michelle is a bright career woman and super mom who, besides her arms and dresses, made great choices such as supporting military families and raising awareness to children’s health and obesity issues. And we all know how much the fashion industry loves that, in the hopes that they never have to see another fatty for generations to come.
As we have evolved (for lack of a better term) as a society, our language has become more prudish and the return to our puritan roots seems to have accelerated. No longer are we allowed to say what we really feel for fear of being excommunicated from the fashion flock, distanced from our peers or worse, being considered “out” by the “in” crowd. Our language has shifted exponentially. There are expressions that you can no longer say and on the same token things that you have to say…or else! Here is a list of the most important ones, to ensure you stay politically correct in these confusing times:
1. Worldwide no-no is the N-word, unless you are an N-word.
2. People with intellectual disabilities no longer can be called Retarded. Whereas I find it most applicable in the case of Umar, that retarded member of the Lucky Sperm Club who tried blowing up Flight 253 on Christmas Day.
3. African-American, Asian-American, Latino-American, Corporate-American.
4. Child-Obesity is the politically correct term for Fat Kid these days. As an ex-fatty, call me fatso any day over “You obese baboon”.
5. Tranny hookers now must be referred to as Transgender Sex Workers. As a past resident of the Meatpacking District in New York City back in the 1990’s, I can assure you; “tranny hooker” is how they referred to themselves. It was the uber-political correct LGBT Community Center that put that glamorous title onto them and consequently killed their business.
6. Homosexuals became really Gay around the time of the Stonewall Riots in the 1969, birthing the Gay Rights movement. Whereas in England, Fags are the correct term for cigarettes.
7. The women’s equality movement escalated in the 1970’s demanding equal pay for equal work, which also birthed the Bitch in the Workplace.
8. Midgets must now be referred to as Little People, even in the Wonderful Land of Oz and Munchkin Land.
9. Secretaries needed an ego boost and the only option was a title as opposed to a raise, so they settled for Administrative Assistant, which sure beats Mistress.
10. Housewives once they heard that their husband’s secretaries were getting a verbal promotion, quickly jumped on the bandwagon and demanded to be called Domestic Engineers. Those who survive Fucked Up Upbringings, which is most of us, can now say we came from Dysfunctional Families.
11. Someone Crippled became Handicapped, which evolved into Disabled and now is officially Physically Challenged…until that will be simply unacceptable.
Now matter what you say or do, there is always a 50% chance that you will be utterly, terribly and embarrassingly wrong. So, either we just stop talking and communicating altogether or rather, say whatever we want and let the chips fall where they may.
This article appears in the spring issue of the European lifestyle publication by Stefan Hottinger-Behmer, Gatsby Magazine.
http://imeanwhat.com/youcallthisfashion/the-end-of-political-correctnessOver the last few decades, we have become curiously, annoyingly and extremely... more
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As the US pours more troops into the "right war" in Afghanistan, a new front in the war against Al Qaeda seems to be emerging: Yemen. Why? The Underwear Bomber! Yemen is a hot and dusty country down at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Its government likes the US, but not all of its people like the government. Back in September, we posted a story asking if Yemen was the next failed state. It's got an armed insurgency battling the government which claims ties to Al Qaeda and it's got an awful lot of Somali refugees (as reported by Vanguard in "Beach of Death", they swim across the Gulf of Aden - even Yemen is better than Somalia).
But like so many other countries teetering on the brink of some sort of collapse, Yemen has largely slipped beneath the Western radar. That is, until the so-called Underwear Bomber was reported to have received his training and instruction from Al Qaeda in the country. All of a sudden: it's all eyes on Yemen.
Good news is, the US military was already there, quietly conducting a campaign against Islamic militants. On December 24, the day before the attempted Underwear Bombing, the New York Times reported on an airstrike in the country targeting senior Al Qaeda members.
A few days later, the Times followed up with a more in-depth picture of US involvement:
A year ago, the Central Intelligence Agency sent several of its top field operatives with counterterrorism experience to the country, according a former top agency official. At the same time, some of the most secretive Special Operations commandos have begun training Yemeni security forces in counterterrorism tactics, senior military officers said.
The Pentagon is spending more than $70 million over the next 18 months, and using teams of Special Forces, to train and equip Yemeni military, Interior Ministry and coast guard forces, more than doubling previous military aid levels.
And indeed, yesterday, the AP reported that US-funded Yemeni forces carried out a raid on an Al Qaeda stronghold.
But can Yemen win its war on terror? Again, just in September we were asking whether it would be the next failed state. Yemen may be raiding militant headquarters today, but they've got other problems - like the Houthi clan waging war against the state in the north. Newsweek asks whether Yemen can be a reliable ally.
...Washington is also rightfully wary of its ally in Sana—a caution that seems particularly justified in the wake of this week's in-flight bombing attempt by a Nigerian who had been studying in Yemen. The Yemeni government's relationship with Al Qaeda is a complicated one. The country's ruling clique, led for the past 30 years by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, has long been fighting off challenges from Shia tribesmen in the north and rebellious socialists in the south—threats that it sees as more immediate than a small band of Qaeda operatives without a real political agenda. In the past, Saleh has enlisted local Islamists—including, notably, jihadis returning from Afghanistan in the 1980s—to help fight those battles.
Not to mention the leaky security that allowed some of baddest of the Gitmo baddies to escape from prison in Yemen in 2006. Indeed, some of the militants behind the Christmas Day attempt are thought to be Guantanamo alums.
All of this to say: It's time to get to know to know your Yemen. Another American GWOT ally whose trials and tribulations will take the spotlight over the next few months as the US tries for a third time to publicly 'take the fight to the terrorists.'
Recently on the Current News Blog:
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- Don't give into road rage - A doctor's commentary on the mammogram screening controversyAs the US pours more troops into the "right war" in Afghanistan, a new front... more
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President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser said Sunday that lawmakers and others are using national security to score political points and defended the handling of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner.
Deputy national security adviser John Brennan complained that politicians, many of them Republicans, were unfairly criticizing the administration for partisan purposes and second-guessing the case with a "500-mile screwdriver" that reaches from Washington to the scene of the abortive attack in Detroit.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/07/john-brennan-stop-using-c_n_452613.htmlPresident Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser said Sunday that lawmakers... more
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Patsies take heed. The U.S. government will kill you. That’s what the Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair told a House intelligence committee yesterday. The Department of Defense will “follow a set of defined policy and legal procedures that are very carefully observed” in the use of lethal force against U.S. citizens who make the mistake of joining organizations created by the CIA and the Mossad.
See the Full Story How the American Government Is Planning to KILL YOU...VIDEO...http://ctpatriot1970.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/please-wake-up-dir-of-intel-dennis-c-blair-us-government-plans-to-kill-citizens-kill-you/
The CIA created al-Qaeda from scratch in Afghanistan. Hamas was created by Mossad in order to undermine the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Both countries have long and sordid histories of creating terrorist organizations for political purposes.Patsies take heed. The U.S. government will kill you. That’s what the Director... more
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A tape said to be from al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has warned US President Barack Obama there will be more attacks if the US continues to support Israel.
http://renovomedia.com/news/osama-to-obama/A tape said to be from al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has warned US President Barack... more
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A plea of not guilty was entered on behalf of a young Nigerian man on Friday during his first public court appearance to face charges of trying to ignite a chemical-laden explosive on a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner on Christmas Day.A plea of not guilty was entered on behalf of a young Nigerian man on Friday during... more
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On Saturday, Obama said the Christmas day non-attack over Detroit was the work of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the latest incarnation of the perennial boogieman used by government to frighten people into accepting foreign invasions and occupations and an ever-growing police state grid at home.
“We know that [Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab] traveled to Yemen, a country grappling with crushing poverty and deadly insurgencies. It appears that he joined an affiliate of al Qaeda, and that this group — Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — trained him, equipped him with those explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for America,” Obama said in his address to the nation.
Are we Headed to a 3rd War? this time with Yemen? read the Full Story here...http://ctpatriot1970.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/flight-253-attack-a-new-war-united-states-plans-retaliatory-attacks-on-yemen/On Saturday, Obama said the Christmas day non-attack over Detroit was the work of... more
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COMMENT:As a customs official now confirms the 2nd man detained, confirming the Haskell’s account, the Detroit News points out that the FBI story has changed 4 times, while the Haskell’s has remained unchanged since day one:
“I just want them to look into our claims,” Lori Haskell said. “Our story has been the same since Day One because we are telling the truth. This is the FBI’s fourth story.”
You Must Read This.. They are Lying to us again America...http://ctpatriot1970.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/cover-up-pt-ii-flight-253-eye-witness-fbi-lying-has-changed-accounts-4-times/COMMENT:As a customs official now confirms the 2nd man detained, confirming the... more
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As the US pours more troops into the "right war" in Afghanistan, a new front in the war against Al Qaeda seems to be emerging: Yemen. Why? The Underwear Bomber! Yemen is a hot and dusty country down at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Its government likes the US, but not all of its people like the government. Back in September, we posted a story asking if Yemen was the next failed state. It's got an armed insurgency battling the government which claims ties to Al Qaeda and it's got an awful lot of Somali refugees (as reported by Vanguard in "Beach of Death", they swim across the Gulf of Aden - even Yemen is better than Somalia).
But like so many other countries teetering on the brink of some sort of collapse, Yemen has largely slipped beneath the Western radar. That is, until the so-called Underwear Bomber was reported to have received his training and instruction from Al Qaeda in the country. All of a sudden: it's all eyes on Yemen.
Good news is, the US military was already there, quietly conducting a campaign against Islamic militants. On December 24, the day before the attempted Underwear Bombing, the New York Times reported on an airstrike in the country targeting senior Al Qaeda members.
A few days later, the Times followed up with a more in-depth picture of US involvement:
"A year ago, the Central Intelligence Agency sent several of its top field operatives with counterterrorism experience to the country, according a former top agency official. At the same time, some of the most secretive Special Operations commandos have begun training Yemeni security forces in counterterrorism tactics, senior military officers said. The Pentagon is spending more than $70 million over the next 18 months, and using teams of Special Forces, to train and equip Yemeni military, Interior Ministry and coast guard forces, more than doubling previous military aid levels."
And indeed, yesterday, the AP reported that US-funded Yemeni forces carried out a raid on an Al Qaeda stronghold.
But can Yemen win its war on terror? Again, just in September we were asking whether it would be the next failed state. Yemen may be raiding militant headquarters today, but they've got other problems - like the Houthi clan waging war against the state in the north. Newsweek asks whether Yemen can be a reliable ally.
"...Washington is also rightfully wary of its ally in Sana—a caution that seems particularly justified in the wake of this week's in-flight bombing attempt by a Nigerian who had been studying in Yemen. The Yemeni government's relationship with Al Qaeda is a complicated one. The country's ruling clique, led for the past 30 years by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, has long been fighting off challenges from Shia tribesmen in the north and rebellious socialists in the south—threats that it sees as more immediate than a small band of Qaeda operatives without a real political agenda. In the past, Saleh has enlisted local Islamists—including, notably, jihadis returning from Afghanistan in the 1980s—to help fight those battles."
Not to mention the leaky security that allowed some of baddest of the Gitmo baddies to escape from prison in Yemen in 2006. Indeed, some of the militants behind the Christmas Day attempt are thought to be Guantanamo alums.
All of this to say: It's time to get to know to know your Yemen. Another American GWOT ally whose trials and tribulations will take the spotlight over the next few months as the US tries for a third time to publicly 'take the fight to the terrorists.'
NEWS BLOG: http://blogs.current.com/news/2009/12/31/get-to-know-yemen-the-new-hot-front-in-the-war-on-terror/
SOURCES: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/reports-of-new-strike-on-radicals-in-yemen/
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/world/middleeast/28yemen.html
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/12/30/general-ml-yemen-us-airliner-attack_7243231.html
http://www.newsweek.com/id/228633As the US pours more troops into the "right war" in Afghanistan, a new front... more
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What was President Obama's reaction to the recent terrorist attempt to explode an international flight bound for Detroit? Instead of reacting in a thoughtful way, he "did a George W. Bush" by reacting in the same mindless, kneejerk way that Bush was famous for: attacking the civil rights of innocent people by ordering that all air travelers in America undergo yet more invasive and degrading security checks.What was President Obama's reaction to the recent terrorist attempt to explode an... more
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Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a transatlantic flight on Christmas Day, appears to have lived a life of privilege.
As the son of one of Nigeria's most prominent businessmen he had access to international travel and a world-class education. He has been described by one former British teacher as a dream student.
But people close to him have said he was increasingly showing extremist views in recent years. His family told the BBC they had not heard from him since October.
Mr Abdulmutallab's father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, said he had approached the US and Nigerian authorities to warn them about his son's views six months before the alleged attempt to destroy the flight to Detroit.
Nigerian media quoted Mr Mutallab, an influential banker who is well connected in Nigerian politics, as saying his son first became radicalised while studying in Lome, Togo.
Michael Rimmer, a Briton who taught him history at the British School in Lome (BSL), told the BBC Mr Abdulmutallab had been "every teacher's dream - very keen, enthusiastic, very bright, very polite".
He had excelled in Islamic scholarship at the British school and gained a reputation for preaching to other students, said Mr Rimmer.
Mr Rimmer said his former student had always been "very religious" and occasionally aired opinions which were "a bit over the top".
"In 2001 we had a number of class discussions about the Taliban. All the other Muslim kids in the class thought they were just a bunch of nutters, but Umar spoke in their defence," said Mr Rimmer.
But he assumed Mr Abdulmutallab was "just playing devil's advocate, trying to keep the discussion going".
Mr Rimmer said that if his former student had carried out the attempted bombing, it would be "such a terrible waste" and his parents would be devastated.
Efemena Mokedi, a classmate of Mr Abdulmutallab and who played on the same basketball team, said he was shocked to hear what had happened.
"You would never expect this coming from him, he's a very good guy, a very good chap to hang out with," he told the BBC.
"He was very sociable, he comes from a wealthy background, he's well educated ... the numbers do not add up," he said.
Contact severed
Between 2005 and 2008, Mr Abdulmutallab is thought to have been enrolled on a course in mechanical engineering at the prestigious University College London.
The college confirmed that a student of that name had attended during that time but could not say if it was the same person.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8431530.stmUmar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up... more
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First it was the shoe bomber - now it's the lap bomber. Does this mean we'll be taking off our shoes and our pants at airports from now on? Inquiring minds want to know.First it was the shoe bomber - now it's the lap bomber. Does this mean... more
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