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Showing posts with label terrorism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label terrorism. Show all posts

Thursday, November 2, 2017

When the President actually doesn't know what he is talking about

Yesterday President Donald Trump said:

1) "We need quick justice and we need strong justice -- much quicker and much stronger than we have right now. Because what we have right now is a joke and it's a laughingstock. And no wonder so much of this stuff takes place."

2) "We also have to come up with punishment that's far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now. They'll go through court for years. And at the end, they'll be -- who knows what happens."

What is the contradiction? Can you find it?

And then, there is this: The evidence.


Monday, March 27, 2017

What is terrorism?

Ah ha! Finally a media story, albeit an op-ed, about the power to define.

As noted in the book, it is lawmakers who get to decide what is crime and what is not, what drugs are harmful and which are not, and what is terrorism and what is not. Here is an opinion piece about this issue. Do you agree or not? And why?

Opinion: Call white supremacist violence by its name: Terrorism

 

 

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Terrorism back in the news

In case you had forgotten, terrorism is still real. And the news is still interested in it.


Well, at least some of the agencies are. Like Fox News:


ISIS destroys shrines, churches and mosques, may be targeting Mecca

AL QAEDA-INSPIRED TERROR GROUP ISIS is leaving a path of destroyed churches, shrines and mosques in its wake as it storms across Syria and Iraq, and has even apparently set its sights on Mecca — Islam's holiest site.
  • Terror plot targeting Eiffel Tower, Louvre foiled, French police say


  • And USA Today:



    French: Terrorists targeted Eiffel Tower, Louvre


    Monday, June 16, 2014

    Iraq all over again?

    This is the very definition of irony and a self-fulfilling prophecy:

    ... the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) threatens to attack the capital of Iraq. ISIS said it had executed 1,700 Iraqi soldiers, and posted photos online Sunday appearing to show some of the killings. [from CNN, The New York Times]

    ISIS is what we wanted to prevent by invading Iraq. ISIS only exists because we invaded, removing the one man who prevented such a group from ever operating in the country. Be sure to thank Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Lewis Libby, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, George W. Bush, and company.


    Now, is this reality in the news?

    Nope. In fact, the people who called for and made the war a reality are at it again.

    And they are all over the news.

    Thursday, June 12, 2014

    A solid OPINION piece based on facts

    CNN's article, "U.S. right wing extremists more deadly than jihadists," is an op-ed, meaning it is opinion. But it is based on facts, and the authors offer their sources:

    ... "since 9/11 extremists affiliated with a variety of far-right wing ideologies, including white supremacists, anti-abortion extremists and anti-government militants, have killed more people in the United States than have extremists motivated by al Qaeda's ideology. According to a count by the New America Foundation, right wing extremists have killed 34 people in the United States for political reasons since 9/11. (The total includes the latest shootings in Kansas, which are being classified as a hate crime).
     
    "'Since 9/11 extremists affiliated with a variety of far-right wing ideologies...have killed more people in the United States than have extremists motivated by al Qaeda's ideology.'
     
    "By contrast, terrorists motivated by al Qaeda's ideology have killed 21 people in the United States since 9/11.
     
    (Although a variety of left wing militants and environmental extremists have carried out violent attacks for political reasons against property and individuals since 9/11, none have been linked to a lethal attack, according to research by the New America Foundation.)"
     
    So, I cannot wait to see what the rest of the media say about these facts.
     
     

    Tuesday, June 10, 2014

    More shootings, more shootings, more shootings ...

    And more mass killings.

    But Fox News ignores them, since they were not committed by Muslims. I mean, read it and see what you think!

    Meanwhile, if these folks were Muslims, we'd call it terrorism. So why don't we?

    After all, "according to the New America Foundation, as of April of this year, 21 people had been killed in the United States in attacks motivated by Islamic extremism since 9/11. Meanwhile, 34 people had been killed by right-wing extremist attacks during the same time period." See?

    Looks to me like even school shootings are a greater threat than terrorism!
     

    This map shows every school shooting since Sandy Hook


    Friday, May 2, 2014

    Benghazi fever, all over again!

    Republicans allege a cover-up by the Obama Administration with regard to the terrorist attack in Benghazi.

    From a story in CNN:

    "On Tuesday, a conservative group called Judicial Watch made public State Department documents it received in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. One of the documents was a previously undisclosed email on September 14, 2012, from Ben Rhodes, a national security official specializing in communications, that listed talking points for Rice about the protests that had erupted at U.S. embassies and compounds in the Muslim world. Among the goals listed in the Rhodes email was to 'underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy.'"

    The CNN story, titled,Benghazi -- government cover-up or right-wing conspiracy theory? examines whether this is really news.

    Liberal sites such as the DailyKos assert this is all sizzle but no steak.

    All this started from a story in USA Today, a story described by FAIR as "blowing smoke."

    Meanwhile, right-wing media are going nuts:

    Tuesday, August 6, 2013

    CNN v Fox News: Top Stories

    Check out the top stories on CNN and Fox News today:

    CNN:


    Court-martial panel hears from Fort Hood defendant

    The Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 comrades and wounding more than 30 delivered his own opening statement in his court-martial today, declaring: "I am the shooter." FULL STORY
     

    THE LATEST

     
    So on CNN it's terrorism, terrorism, crime, murder, baseball controvesry, an Amber Alert (crime?), political guesswork, crime, and porn.
     
    And on Fox, it is terrorism, terrorism, terrorism, and sports nonsense:
     

    Ft. Hood Gunman: 'Dead Bodies
    Will Show War Is an Ugly Thing'

    Monday, August 5, 2013

    Are you afraid yet?

    As you know, terrorism is news, even when it does NOT happen.

    Take today's lead story on Fox News. It is serves as a reminder of the threat, even as Americans go about their business with generally little thought or fear of terrorism.

    'Specific' & 'Serious' Terror Threat

    You probably know--maybe even from this blog--about the freedoms we've lost as part of the war on terror. But a recent poll found that a majority of Americans do not worry about giving up their right to privacy, for example, as long as it will help prevent terrorism here.

    The threat overseas is interesting, but one has to wonder why some people (e.g., Fox News commentators) get so upset about the loss of life in foreign countries (e.g., Benghazi, Libya) when the people who work there obviously know the dangerous conditions in which they work?

    Check out how much Fox News has devoted to that story.

    Incredibly, a large portion of Republicans as well as conservatives call this the largest scandal that has ever occurred in the nation, yet many do not even know in which country it occurred! See?


    Wednesday, May 29, 2013

    What is terrorism anyway?

    Did you know that terrorism experts generally argue that there is no single accepted defintion of terrorism.

    So does this qualify?

    International terrorism always gets headlines. Getting much less attention is the ongoing government-sanctioned terror against blacks in America.

    This is not hyperbole. The problem is real, and systemic, and a new report out this month confirms it.

    Terror is terror, and it often ends in incarcerating the innocent - or worse.

    Domestic terror against blacks includes a death count at the hands of "police, security guards and vigilantes," resulting in the fatality of an African-American every 28 hours.

    Read more: http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/16415-the-casualties-of-justice

    Be sure to focus on the part focusing on Bill Moyers and his argument about "justice for all" being a lie. Hmmmmm.................


    Monday, May 13, 2013

    About those Boston attacks

    Surely you remember the attacks at the Boston marathon. Nothing more needs to be said about that day.

    But what about after? No Miranda rights for the American suspect. A lockdown of the city. etc. Were these measures necessary?

    You'll see little to no discussion of such issues in the US mainstream media. But in the independent media, you will. Including America's inability to understand what motivated these two young men ...

    Here is an example:

    http://www.opendemocracy.net/david-w-montgomery/avoiding-responsibility-in-boston-marathon-bombing

    One excerpt from the story hints at the criticial nature of the author's focus:

    "Neither Islam nor ethnic heritage is the explanation for what led the Tsarnaevs to do what they did. They spent formative years in Boston, being educated there and, seemingly, knowing life there better than anywhere else. It is through our communities that we are connected to these events, and it is in those communities that we should begin our search for explanations."

    Remember Timothy McVeigh? White guy. Eric Robert Rudolph? White guy. Alleged mailer of Ricin? White guy. And what about all those school shooters and mass killers? White guys. And none of them Muslims, by the way.

    So there are not stories in the media about their race and ethnicity and religion and their role in the attacks. So why with the Boston bombers?





    Friday, April 19, 2013

    The news today

    After the bombing in Boston and the surrounding events last night, of course THIS is the lead story in the news today:



    Now, clearly this is an important story.

    Having said that, all of this is over the deaths of three people (now four after the killing last night of a police officer). I wish the news would keep that in perspective and ask whether that justifies such coverage (maybe it still does, I'm just pointing it out). 

    Here is an example of what I mean. During all this there was an explosion in Waco, Texas at a fertilizer factory. Many more people died there, and of course it has been in the news.

    Yet, the issue of such hazardous workplaces has not been in the news. At that particular factory, the last time it had been inspected by OSHA was in the 1980s. Serious safety violations were discovered there. The company paid a fine. Wait for it. $30!

    The company told OSHA there was no risk of fire or explosion at the plant. And so OSHA just believed the company. And now hundreds are injured, more than a dozen are likely dead, and property is destroyed all over the town.

    So, which is a greater threat--terrorism or irresponsible businesses? If the latter, why not more media coverage?

    Thursday, April 18, 2013

    We have to rely on a comedian for the truth?

    It is a sad time when we as citizens and consumers of the news have to rely on a comedian to set the record straight about how the media cover crime and why it matters.

    Yes, Jon Stewart does it again.

    Last night on The Daily Show he illustrated, using humor, something that is actually quite outrageous--CNN falling all over itself to bring us BREAKING NEWS about the Boston bombing attack.

    Here is part one:

    http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-april-17-2013/the-most-busted-name-in-news

    Here is part two:

    http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-april-17-2013/the-most-busted-name-in-news---exclusive-and-first

    Watch both and see that CNN's obsession with the story and its strong desire to be first led it to be wrong, all day long. My question is, why must we rely on a comedian to show us what is wrong with our news?

    And oh yeah, Jon Stewart also illustrated another important reality that has been largely ignored by the media now and that was ignored in the past, too. See it here:

    http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-april-17-2013/zero-dark-hurty

    My question is, since torture is ILLEGAL under both US and international law, when will we hold those responsible for it accountable?

    Wednesday, September 12, 2012

    In the wake of another 9/11 attack ...

    ... we might as well learn what happened before (and led to) the previous 9/11 attack.

    I've written extensively about it.

    And here is a recent interview from Kurt Eichenwald, author of 500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars.

    Some may dismiss this because the interview is with Rachel Maddow. But listen to what Eichenwald learned about the previously unrealized degree of specificity and frequency of warnings the Bush administration received about a terror attack by Osama bin Laden leading up to the attacks on 9-11.

    I dare you to watch it, here:

    http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/11490-rachel-maddow-getting-9-11-history-right

    And then if you want to know what really happened prior to 9/11 and how that impacted the likelihood of such a terrible terrorist attack, go here and have at it:

    http://www.historycommons.org/project.jsp?project=911_project

    Monday, May 7, 2012

    Anyone see a problem with this "picture?"

    US thinks underwear bomb was built by Al Qaeda in Yemen

    Los Angeles Times -
    WASHINGTON -- The FBI is analyzing a sophisticated underwear bomb that US officials believe was built by Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen in an effort to target Western aviation.
    Officials: More Al Qaeda Bombs Unaccounted For
    Apparent airline bomb plot thwarted-US officials
    The top story of the day is of a plot by al-Qaeda to blow up a plane. And whose picture is on the front of every news cite in the country?
     
    So we are supposed to remain afraid of him even after he has been dead for a year!

    Seriously? 





















    Tuesday, March 6, 2012

    Can a US President kill an American citizen without trial?

    Yes.

    So says the Obama White House. And they did just that in the killing of Anwar al-Alawki, an American citizen living in Yemen.

    White House and Justice Department officials say they had strong evidence that he was involved in major terrorism against the US. Which makes me wonder why they did not find him, arrest him, and bring him to trial. If the issue is that he would have been killed in such an attempt, fine, and that would be perfectly legal under US and international law given the right to kill in self-defense as part of a legitimate military or law enforcement operation.

    Instead of that, they found him and shot him dead from the sky using a Predator Drone missile. Without trial (thus without due process).

    Today on NPR I heard a Justice Department official--the Attorney General himself--say we are entitled to "due process" but not "judicial process." Yes, he actually said that.

    To the credit of NPR, at least they covered it!

    And the issue has generated some critical coverage in the past. Here are two examples:

    http://www.examiner.com/human-rights-in-national/obama-s-secret-targeted-killing-program-prompts-aclu-lawsuit

    http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/10/02-4

    And today even Fox News has a story about it!

    Thursday, September 29, 2011

    Has terrorism become a "joke" in the US?

    In the past several weeks, I've read about numerous terrorist plots intercepted by law enforcement agencies. Each and every one of them involved people who were being monitored closely while they made their plans. And each and every one of them involved people who acquired bomb making materials from the US government (e.g., the FBI), where the bomb making materials were actually not real but were fakes!

    The government then arrests the people for intending to commit terrorism and conspiracy to commit terrorism, even though there was never actually a danger (because the bombs were fake).

    And now there is this story, titled: "US man planned to blow up Pentagon."

    How? With model airplanes!

    From the story:

    Rezwan Ferdaus was arrested in Framingham, Massachusetts, after undercover federal agents delivered materials he had allegedly requested, including grenades, six machine guns and what he believed was 24 pounds of C-4 explosive. Federal officials said the public was never in danger from the explosives, which it said were always under control and closely monitored.

    Wednesday's arrest was similar to other cases in which reputed would-be terrorists were caught in sting operations that revolved around fictional plots against various targets, such as Dallas skyscapers or a Chicago nightclub. In this case, though, authorities say Ferdaus planned the scheme.

    According to a federal affidavit, Ferdaus, 26, of Ashland, became convinced America was evil through jihadi websites and videos, and began planning "jihad" against the U.S. in early 2010. He contacted a federal informant that December and months later, allegedly began meeting to discuss the plot with undercover federal agents he believed were members of al-Qaida.

    Ferdaus said he wanted to deal a psychological blow to the "enemies of Allah" by hitting the Pentagon, which he called "head and heart of the snake," according to the affidavit.

    "Allah has given us the privilege," he allegedly told the informant. "... He punishes them by our hand. We're the ones."

    ____________________________

    When you add all of these cases to the guy that left a bomb in his SUV in Times Square that merely smoked instead of exploded, the man who tried to light his shoes on fire aboard a plane but was "bitch slapped" by fellow passengers, and the fellow who tried to light his underwear on fire aboard another plan but merely burned his own crotch, and you start to wonder just how competent are these people we are fighting? And why are we spending so much money to do it?

    Here's hoping these "terrorists" continue to be so incompetent!

    Be on the lookout for model airplanes flying the sky. Terrorists may be operating them with plans to blow up your house.
    Seriously? This is the evidence in the case?

    Monday, July 25, 2011

    At least this murderous rampage did NOT occur in the US

    You know as well as I do.

    When a man loses it, he loses it in the US.

    It is here that people tend to go on shooting sprees.

    Sure, it happens elsewhere, but not like in the good ole, US of A.

    Until now.


    Anders Behring Breivikma may have killed 100 people in his bombing and shooting rampage in Norway. And so clearly, this has made the news.

    Make no mistake about it: This man to the left is a terrorist. Why? Because he committed an act of violence in order to achieve a political result. That's the textbook definition of terrorism.

    Imagine if al-Qaeda was as effective against soft targets as this man. Think of the shoe bomber and the underwear bomber and the Times Square truck bomber. None of their bombs went off or else hundreds would have been killed. Be thankful that al-Qaeda has not chosen a mall for a simple shooting spree. Imagine how many people three or four of them could kill at different entrances of a mall, moving inward.

    Surely, Anders Behring Breivikma will help change American perspectives on terrorism, right?

    Don't hold your breath. We seem convinced that the only terrorists are Arabs and Muslims and dark-skinned foreigners.

    I ask that you tell your far-right friends--who talk about the evils of terrorism and religious tolerance, and how Christianity is under attack, and how Marxism and socialism threaten our freedom, and how we must rid the US of such forces--tell them about this man. In his own words, this is what motivated him to shoot unarmed and innocent children in the face.

    His words:

    "I have spent several years writing, researching and compiling the information and I have spent most of my hard earned funds in this process (in excess of 300 000 Euros). I do not want any compensation for it as it is a gift to you, as a fellow patriot."
    ___

    "Multi-culturalism (cultural Marxism/political correctness), as you might know, is the root cause of the ongoing Islamisation of Europe which has resulted in the ongoing Islamic colonisation of Europe through demographic warfare (facilitated by our own leaders)."
    ___

    "In order to successfully penetrate the cultural Marxist/multiculturalist media censorship we are forced to employ significantly more brutal and breath taking operations which will result in casualties. In order for the attack to gain an influential effect, assassinations and the use of weapons of mass destruction must be embraced."
    ___

    "The ideology that has taken over Western Europe goes most commonly by the name of "Political Correctness." Some people see it as a joke. It is not. It is deadly serious. It seeks to alter virtually all the rules, formal and informal, that govern relations among people and institutions. It wants to change behaviour, thought, even the words we use."
    ___

    "Christendom is gradually being deconstructed. It is time that the Pope and his cardinals begin to resist the deliberate deconstruction of European Christendom. The process would, however, be quite challenging, but worth the effort as all Justiciar Knights who dies for their faith will be a great source of inspiration for generations to come. They will be role models. Certain, exceptionally brave and selfless, Justiciar Knights in the coming decades should even be considered as candidates for official veneration."
    ___

    "I have never in my life felt that I have done anything more meaningful than what I am doing now regardless of the lack of moral support from my founding brothers or other armed resistance fighters."


    http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jt7Cm2Xi6WkIvHuawtRa0Rugy0LA?docId=cfb2cffd356a4a848e826161a0160bb7

    Wednesday, May 11, 2011

    Did you hear about the guy on the plane ...?

    ... who tried to open an emergency door?

    And what about the other guy who also tried to open a door recently on a different plane?

    Or the guy who tried to enter the cockpit of a plane recently?

    None of these events are connected. It is not a broad plot to bring down airliners again. It is just a random cluster of events that happened to occur near the same time, even though on different airlines and in different cities. Most of these people were probably either deranged or just confused (maybe they thought they could get some fresh air?). Heck, the guy who tried to enter the cockpit may have just wanted to complain to the pilots about the lack of legroom!

    Nevertheless, each time a new event occurs, the mainstream press connects it to all the others, fully reporting yet again on each and every event as if they are part of some pattern.

    This is linkage, discussed in the book.

    Airline travel is incredibly safe. Security is still terrible, no doubt (people have recently smuggled in bombs in their underwear!).


    Luckily for us, these "terrorists" are mostly incompetent and we passengers are vigilant enough to be ready to intervene when needed.

    The media, meanwhile, just continue to promote fear even when not warranted, because it sells.