Feds consider searches of terrorism blogs

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The Homeland Security Department may soon start scouring the Internet to find blogs and message boards that terrorists use to plan attacks in the USA.
The effort comes as researchers are seeing terrorists increasingly use the Internet to plan bombings, recruit members and spread propaganda. "Blogging and message boards have played a substantial role in allowing communication among those who would do the United States harm," the department said in a recent notice.
Homeland Security officials are looking for companies to search the Internet for postings "in near to real-time which precede" an attack, particularly a bombing. Bombings are "of great concern" because terrorists can easily get materials and make an improvised-explosive device (IED), the department said.
"There is a lot of IED information generated by terrorists everywhere — websites, forums, people telling you where to buy fertilizer and how to plant IEDs," said Hsinchun Chen, director of the University of Arizona's Artificial Intelligence Lab. Chen's "Dark Web" research project has found 500,000,000 terrorist pages and postings, including tens of thousands that discuss IEDs.
Chen and others aren't sure how helpful blogs and message boards will be in uncovering planned attacks.
"I just can't envision a scenario where somebody posts to a message board, 'I'm getting ready to launch an IED at this location,' and the government will find that," said terrorism analyst Matt Devost. A lot of postings about attacks are "fantasy, almost role-playing," Devost said.
Internet searches are used routinely by government agencies, such as the Defense Department, in gathering intelligence, said Chip Ellis of the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism.
The searches use methods similar to a Google query and can be helpful in uncovering the latest IED technology, Ellis said.
Steven Aftergood, an intelligence expert at the Federation of American Scientists, praised Homeland Security for "trying to develop innovative approaches" and said its effort would not jeopardize privacy because the department would be scanning public websites.
The department, which declined comment, has made no decision about using Internet searches and is reviewing statements that companies submitted last month describing their ability to do the searches.

Now Who's the Terrorist!?

http://cryptogon.com/docs/endgame.pdf


http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h1955/text

The facts show that our government and its three letter gangs have set in motion a series of events if the form of bills, directives, executive orders, and defense contacts ect. ect. That individually seem almost harmless but combined have a seemingly endless arm of totalitarian power. That should the people of this police state we call our country militarize, mobilize, and organize ourselves in revolution against the oppression and terror of the current regime we will face a seemingly insurmountable level of opposition. Through the implementation of Martial Law, REX-84, and other Continuation Of Government (COG) procedures the government gives itself the power to suspend Habeas Corpus and endless other rights normally protected by the Constitution, it also gives them the power to suspend the Constitution itself. Furthermore it gives them the power to detain citizens of the police state labeled as "Homegrown Domestic Terrorist" for an "undetermined and indefinite" period of time. The reality is that KBR, Halliburton, and politicians working to set up their own forms of shadow government are spending billions of dollars on no-bid contracts to build and or renovate large scale detention facilities. Facilities that are trying to be passed off as FEMA facilities but all evidence points to the contrary. Especially when you read documents like the Immigrations and Customs Enforcements' (ICE) ten year plan entitled "Endgame". Which has already been set into action by the Office of Detention and Removal (DRO). This program specifically targets "potential domestic terrorist" as one of its main objectives. Taxpayer dollars are further being wasted to dispose of links and block access to archived copies of this and many other documents related to this and many of the press releases regarding KBR/Halliburton involvement and contracts regarding the construction of theses detention facilities.

On a closing note, you may read this and generalize this as mere conspiracy theory. But I urge you to do some of your own research and you'll see that I present this to you not as opinions or assumptions but as facts that I as the author have gathered in my own research. If you take nothing from this blog and others but a increased level of dissent or a renewed level of interest on what our government is doing then I have done my part. So once again I strongly urge you to not take what the television tells you what they think you should know but to gather your own information and for your own ideas.

"The government constantly needs a reminder that free citizens will only be governed by consent not control."

_NorthSide_

iRevolt

--ALI-- Its a cause. Its the spirit of America. Its what founded America. Our right to create millitias and bear arms was supposed to be the check against a government gone mad. A government that spends more money on weapons than it does on education. I worked on a base that had over 80 F-16 fighters worth over 32 million each(est. total assets over 3 billion). But I've never seen a public school worth more than ONE F-16.

Do you think the country itself is moving in the right direction? The government has led America for too long, its time to take back the helm; its time to remember its "For the people, by the people."

Obama And The Politics Of Being Biracial

"Talk of the Nation, December 18, 2008 · President-elect Barack Obama defines himself as African-American. His mother is a white American, and his father is a black African. This hits a nerve with some people, who wonder why Obama doesn't use the term biracial to describe his race."


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98455533





--Ali-- Because I am actually biracial, I can directly relate to this phenomenon. It really bothers me when white people get offended, or are confused by Barak Obama calling himself black. These people getting ass hurt by this fact should ask themselves a better question. Why does it matter if he calls himself black instead of mixed? I don't care about race at all. On a test I mark more than one box even if it says "mark one box." I don't go around playing up my black and Korean-ness because it has nothing to do with who I am. It only effects how other people treat me. Halle Berry, Lewis Hamilton, Ne-Yo, Tyson Bedford, Naomi Campbell, Tiger Woods, they're all the first "black" people to win or even dominate predominately white mediums. Its like when someone says "merry Christmas" and you're Jewish or something. Its easier to just go with it.

Timberlands' Earthkeepers; The Official Boot of the Revolution??

_NorthSide_ Stylish, functional, and environmentally responsible? You bet. "One or more major components (i.e. fabric, lining or upper) contain at least 50% recycled polyethylene therephthalate (PET), the plastic used to make soda bottles." So now you can remain stylish as you put in work. Timberland has not only released these environmentally friendly boots but they are also taking actions beyond that.

"What is an EarthKeeper?

OK, we made up the word, but it’s not too hard to figure out. “Earth”—where we all live, plus “keeper”—a protector or guardian. Put them together and ta-da—a new way to call someone who cares about the environment. Earthkeepers are people doing small things, like recycling, biking instead of driving and using energy-efficient light bulbs. And people doing bigger things, like replanting eroded areas and retrofitting their engines to run on bio fuel. You’re probably an Earthkeeper already.

Our Mission

We at Timberland started Earthkeepers because we love the outdoors. Making outdoor boots, shoes and gear is what we do for a living. No more outdoors means no more living. For us—or anyone else. Of course, we realize that by making our products, we’re part of the problem. We believe it’s time for companies, like ours, to take a look at how the way they do business affects the environment and do something about it. Earthkeepers is one way we’re trying to do exactly that. Our goal—inspire and engage one million Earthkeepers. We know we don’t have all the answers. So we hope you share yours. Or, just look around to learn a few things you didn’t already know. Or, help spread the word. The more Earthkeepers the better. You can start by planting a virtual tree.


We’re doing other things, too, like cutting back our emissions, using renewable energy and putting more organic and recycled materials in our gear. Look here for more info on what we’re doing to improve the way we operate. Check back here often to find out more about Earthkeepers and find out about events in your area."

They've also started a very informative and forward thinking website full of useful information about conserving our environment. But they're not just talking they are putting into action practical changes that can help reduce their carbon footprint as well as ours individually. So give them a look and some love and get your earthkeepers, because not only will you look good you ll feel good about doing a bit of your part.

http://earthkeeper.com/blog/

Darfur

"For too long, the people of Darfur have suffered at the hands of a government that is complicit in the bombing, murder, and rape of innocent civilians. My Administration has called these actions by their rightful name: genocide. The world has a responsibility to help put an end to it. ... I promise this to the people of Darfur: the United States will not avert our eyes from a crisis that challenges the conscience of the world." – President George W. Bush, 5/29/07


_NorthSide_ For far too long have the powers of the world that be stood by or turned a blind eye to the atrocities to the people of world. President Bush was quick to chastise Saddam Hussein as an evil dictator that must be removed from power, who no doubt committed horrible acts upon the people of his country. Yet he stands by as hundreds of people are brutalized, murdered, raped, and kidnapped every day in Africa. Where the most innocent beings there is children are kidnapped and brainwashed into becoming soldiers. All because the U.S. and other superpower countries don't stand to gain anything from asserting a presence in countries like Darfur. You may ask why do we not hear about these horrible conditions on Fox news or CNN, its because the media also doesn't stand to gain anything by covering these stories. Not to say that the people of the United States don't care, but more that they are ignorant to the rest of the world because they wait for mainstream media sources to force feed them their daily dose of world news and believe that mainstream media will tell them everything they need to know.

I do not claim to be a world political strategist but I do know that action must be taken to prevent acts such as these from happening. More than making press releases on the White House website.


--ALI--
What hurts me the most about this is that governments around the world dance around the definition of "Genocide." Mostly because there is an active UN resolution that demands immediate and unconditional action by all powers to stop it at all costs. So while they count and sort bodies holding a dictionary in their hands they could have put that shit aside and save lives. I guess they don't see them as people. When someone jumped my boy Shane, I didn't think, does Shane deserve this, what do I have at stake? Hell no, me and Zach bolted straight out the door and handled him, and his friends.

www.eyesondarfur.org/
www.24hoursfordarfur.org/

Operation Iraqi Freedom and National Security

"Operation Iraqi Freedom" and "National Security"

Operation Iraqi Freedom, beginning March 19, 2003, was not in the interest of national security or even "The Global War on Terrorism." In 2003 the Bush administration defined "The Global War on Terrorism" as "[the call] for defeating terrorist organizations of global reach through the direct or indirect use of diplomatic, economic, information, law enforcement, military, financial, intelligence, and other instruments of power." State sponsorship of terrorist are a key concern, especially those seeking weapons of mass destruction, or WMDs (National Strategy). By the time this official mandate was released the Taliban laid in ruins. The haven for Bin Ladens operations in Afghanistan had been pushed under the mountain ranges bordering Pakistan. Then, a new focus would arise from the "long memory" of American interest, Iraq.

Targeting Saddam Husein, who had long been a threat to peace, was not a sudden or vindictive move. In the 1980's Saddam, using chemical weapons, massacred a Shiite village of Kurds. During the same period, during the Iraq Iran war, Saddam authorized the use of chemical weapons to attack Iran. In spite of being the lesser of two evils, his deplorable actions would not be forgotten. The eventual invasion of Kuwait would prompt the first military intervention by a UN supported coalition, fueling deep concern for regional and even worldwide stability. In 1998, after several years of UN disarming of Iraq, Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman sponsored the "Iraq Liberation Act," which made regime change in Iraq and official United States policy (Draper p2). Such change was deemed necessary considering economic sanctions had failed to deter Saddam's efforts to attain nuclear capabilities. With documented attempts to acquire "yellow cake uranium" and high strength aluminum tubes (which could be used to enrich uranium) Saddam's intent was very evident. A nuclear armed Iraq would devastate the region and create conditions not unlike Afghanistan under Taliban rule. "The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. America will not accept a serious and mounting threat to our country and our friends and our allies," (State of the Union p9).

Saddam Hussein did have a history of despotism, however the perceived threat was either overestimated or engineered. The crimes against his people (gassing the Kurds in North-east Iraq) was deplorable and cited to characterize his future intent. I argue that it was an internal affair (Saddam would later be hung for that particular crime) parallel to American enslavement and segregation of African Americans, and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War Two. Although, if you consider the "National Strategy for Combating Terrorism" and the mounting evidence against Saddam, Iraq did fit the profile of a "State sponsor of Terrorism." The underlying conditions and international environment were conducive to terrorist activity (National Strategy p6). But, the central justification for invading Iraq was that Iraq either had or almost had weapons of mass destruction (State of the Union p7-9). But to put it plainly, the credibility of this Intelligence was hidden under bureaucracy, in addition to being completely inaccurate. "We are strongly supporting the International Atomic Energy Agency in its mission to track and control nuclear materials around the world," )State of the Union p6). That's fine, but "in early march, [only weeks] before the invasion of Iraq began [in 2003], the International Atomic Energy Agency dismissed the [yellow cake] uranium reports about Niger, noting that they were based on forged documents," (Sanger 2). True that notice wasn't long before the invasion, but Ambassador Joseph Wilson (sent by the CIA) traveled to Niger in 2002 and found the claims to be false well in advance of even the invasions planning (Wilson 1). Even senior republicans Henry Kissinger and Brent Snowcroft (National Security Advisor to George Bush Senior) warned that "the administration has not shown that Iraq poses an urgent threat to the United States," (Purdum and Tyler 1). It only became more apparent that evidence fueling the charge into Iraq was crafted to suit the agenda (to depose Saddam). Secretary of State Colin Powell attempted to quell the critics in his May 2003 speech. Powell asserted that "the integrity of our process [was] maintained throughout..." and that the evidence was solid (Dao and Shanker 1). The forced resignation of Powell would serve to justify the criticism he set out to defeat. The suspicions of many would later be confirmed by ground forces during the invasion. "It was a surprise to me then, it remains a surprise to me now, that we have not uncovered weapons, as you say, in some forward sites," said Lieutenant General James Conwas, commander of the First Marine Expeditionary Force (Dao and Shanker 2). The 25,000 liters of biological agents, 500 tons of nerve agents, and the 38,000 liters of botulism toxin mentioned in the State of the Union address were never found. The materials to produce them were never found. Only two mobile labs, leftover from before the first Gulf War, were ever found. But as Lt. General James Conwas assures America "believe me, it's not for a lack of trying," (Dao and Shanker 2).

No one can deny that Operation Iraqi Freedom has been a hard fought and exceedingly costly war. But by choosing to act alone (National Strategy 2) America has only itself to blame. The complete failure for the Bush administration to collect credible intelligence, make pre and post war plans, and maintain the checks and balances inherit to our democracy, has caused an unjust, unproductive war. With our military stretched to the breaking point our nation is left more vulnerable than ever. So I say again, Operation Iraqi Freedom, having devestated two nations, is not in the interest of national security.

Works Cited

Dao, James and Thom Shanker. "Powell Defends Information He Used to Justify Iraq War"

The New York Times. 31 May. 2003. 28 Nov. 2008

Draper, Robert. "Prisoner of War" GQ Oct. 2008: 264-265

Langer, David. "After the War: The President; Bush Claim on Iraq Had Flawed Origin, White

House Says."The New York Times July 8, 2003. 28 Nov. 2008

Purdum, Todd and Patrick Tyler. "Top Republicans Break with Bush on Iraq Strategy"

The New York Times. 16 Aug. 2002. 28 Nov. 2008

United States Government. Executive Address. National Strategy for

Combating Terrorism Washington D.C.: United States, February 2003

United States Government. Executive Address. The State of the Union Address Washington D.C.

United States, January 2003

"Wilson: Commuting Libby's Sentence Is 'Corrupt." All Things Considered Narr. Neil Connan.

NPR. 02 July 2007

Blackwater Guards Charged With Manslaughter

Iraq
Blackwater Guards Charged With Manslaughter
NPR.org, December 8, 2008 · Five American security guards charged in connection with the shooting deaths of 14 civilians in Baghdad last year surrendered to federal agents in Utah on Monday.
The Justice Department, which unsealed the indictments on Monday, said the five Blackwater Worldwide guards fired a grenade into a girls' school, shot an unarmed civilian point-blank as he held up his hands and used machine guns on bystanders.
The five guards, who were contracted by the U.S. to protect State Department personnel, surrendered Monday and were due to ask a federal judge in Utah for bail. A sixth Blackwater guard has admitted to killing at least one Iraqi in a plea deal.
"None of these victims was an insurgent, and many were shot while inside of civilian vehicles that were attempting to flee," prosecutors wrote in court documents. "One victim was shot in his chest while standing in the street with his hands up."
The five were charged with 14 counts of manslaughter and 20 counts of attempted manslaughter. They are also charged with using a machine gun to commit a crime of violence, a charge that carries a 30-year minimum sentence.
The incident occurred last year in a busy Baghdad intersection known as Nisoor Square. At the time, witnesses said the security guards opened fire unprovoked. Women and children were among the victims, and the shooting left the square littered with blown-out cars.
The shootings increased tensions between Washington and the fledgling Iraqi government in Baghdad. The Iraqi government sought the right to prosecute the men in Iraqi courts.
The guards who surrendered in Salt Lake City were reportedly hoping to get the case moved to Utah, where they think they'll find sympathetic jurors.
From staff and wire reports

_NorthSide_ I Believe that there may be more to this story than has actually come to light thus far. Furthermore I find it hard to believe that an army for hire such as Blackwater comprised mostly for former military personnel who know first hard the ramifications of violating U.N. and NATO guidelines would fire on innocent civilians unprovoked. Not to say that the Blackwater personnel may not have had made some serious mistakes and and miscalculated split second decisions when being fired upon. Its is easy for us here in the comfort of our homes to make assumptions as to what happened. I think that where this incident first happened the U.S. government tryed to sweep this under the rug and as the Iraqi government continued to pressure Washington for action they finally realized this wasn't going away and expected actions to be taken. I do however find it easy to believe that a company like Blackwater who wouldn't jeopardize its multi-billion dollar defense contracts would quickly throw its personnel under the bus due to increased pressure from the U.S. and Iraqi governments. Should the evidence as the trial progresses further implicate them as they're currently being prosecuted as I do believe that they should be held fully accountable. And I'll eat my words.

Ali- Interesting that Blackwater, a government security contractor, held off prosecution for so long. I don't think moving the case to Utah will help them. True, that place is full of nut jobs, racists, and religious fanatics, but I doubt that even they (probably an all white jury) would condone a murder spree by madmen. Remember Trolley Square? I believe they should be thrown to the mercy of Iraqi courts, since they didn't fall under the UCMJ which normally excludes international prosecution. If the Iraqis get them though, I'm pretty sure they will be hung as soon as the very short trial is over.