Hypothecate » Terrorism

Massacre shakes Norway to the core

Alan — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 07:37:34 +0000

Norway is a county that has prided itself on an international reputation for cultural tolerance and individual freedom as well as its commendably low crime rate. The majority of police officers don’t carry weapons, and at present the steepest sentence for convicted criminals is 21 years in jail. The fact that one of its own has admitted “carrying out” last week’s murderous attack on its citizens has raised even more questions to add to the shock and horror resulting from this ‘aberration.’

Anders Behring Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian, had no previous criminal record and was described by a neighbouring farmer as an ordinary guy. However, Breivik’s recent activities indicate that he was and is committed to his own vision of what society ought to be; in his case that involved setting off a bomb in Oslo that killed at least seven and injured many more, then shooting down more than 80 people at a Labour Party youth camp.

The investigation is ongoing, but reports are that Breivik was a self-described Christian ‘fundamentalist’ and strongly opposed to Islamic influence that he said threatens Norway and the Christian world. He was quoted as saying that the attack was necessary to bring attention to the undermining of values he believes in, and wanted a public forum to explain himself and his views.

As of today he has been denied that forum, and in a closed hearing he was remanded to custody pending further investigation as to whether he had cohorts in his actions. Speculation as to the ultimate reasons behind the attack varies from brainwashing from outside sources to a terrible childhood, but this incident has roused a lot of people to wonder about the source or sources of such behaviour in other countries and situations.

As in every case where the ‘innocent bystander’ is victim to someone’s fanatical conviction that a group or entity is out to destroy whatever it is they hold dear, it comes down to fear of what we don’t understand – and a refusal to make even the slightest attempt to understand it. “Terrorism” is a term we use to categorize this sort of violent action, and so far there is no indication that it has ever furthered any stated goal.

Fear engenders hatred and vice versa, and two wrongs have never yet made a right. Possibly the most dangerous human being is one who believes absolutely that he or she is ‘right’. These people cannot accept any other view as having merit; they are pitifully limited and short-sighted, but that only makes them more deadly. Drastic security measures don’t address the real problem; teaching tolerance might.

Obama says terrorist nukes are a real threat

Alan — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 03:25:50 +0000

The United States President Barack Obama warned this week that the threat of nuclear attack continues to rise as terrorists are actively pursuing nuclear materials.

On Tuesday, Obama spoke at the end of a nuclear summit stating that although the threat of nuclear war on a national level has decreased, terrorist groups such as al-Qaida are becoming a larger threat as they work to gain access to nuclear materials.

Obama called the present nuclear threat a ‘cruel irony of history’ in reference to the Cold War and waned that leaders need to take action now instead of talking about how to protect nuclear materials.

47 countries were present at the Washington summit and are working to issue a joint declaration that each will better secure their materials over the course of the next four years.

The next nuclear summit will be held in South Korea in two years.

Obama also held a private meeting with Recep Taygip Erdogan the Turkish Prime Minister, Angela Merkel the German Chancellor, and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner the Argentine President.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also signed a protocol with Russia on the same day that the country will eliminate excess plutonium from their defence program.

Prior to the start of the nuclear summit on Monday Obama also met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in order to work out potential sanctions on Iran because of its nuclear activities.

Due to suspicions regarding their nuclear programs, Syria, Iran, and North Korea were not invited to participate in the summit.

Afghanistan now has more dead Brits than the Falklands

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:32:10 +0000

Over the past two days three more soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan by bombs. This brings the total number of British service personnel who have died in the Afghanistan conflict up to 256 which is one more soldier than was lost in 1982 in the Falkland Islands.

Sunday, two people from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, the Royal Scots Borderers died while near the Helmand province on foot patrol. Yesterday another soldier was killed near Nad-e-Ali in the Southern area of Helmand while attempting to clear the area of explosive devices.

The men’s names have not yet been released but their family members have been notified.

A spokesman for the Royal Scots stated that the two soldiers on foot patrol were helping the local people with security when an explosion caught them off guard. The spokesman continued to say that while they were cruelly taken; their fortitude and bravery will be remembered.

The men were killed the night before the NATO ground forces launched what is touted as the largest offensive by the group since 2001. The offensive is known as Operation Mastarak and is allegedly going to include about 10,000 troops in an effort to take back Marja from the Taleban.

In an unusual fashion, western commanders have made their decision widely known so that civilians in the area have the chance to vacate the area before action commences.

Commander of Helmand UK forces, Brigadier James Cowan, stated that the aim is to make sure that innocent people are safe.

Airport scanners may produce child porn

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:31:06 +0000

The quick installation of full body scanners at top British airports may breach some child protection laws that pertain to indecent images.

Campaigners are worried that the machines create graphic images of children and that there need to be better safeguards in place to protect passengers’ privacy.

In the face of the concern, ministers now need to consider excusing those under 18 from the scan machines or deal with delays that would come from developing new laws so that airport security staff do not break any laws that fall under the category of child pornography.

Additionally, ministers face new demands that safeguards priced at up to £80,000 are put in place to ensure that images from the body scanners do not get posted on the internet, particularly images of celebrities.

In Manchester a trial of scanners that were descript enough to reveal genitalia and breast enlargements was only permitted this past December when it was determined that those under 18 would be excused from the process.

This decision came in the wake of Action for Rights of Children advocate Terri Dowty warning that the scanners possibly violate the Protection of Children Act 1978 which states that an indecent image of a child cannot be created under any terms.

Dowty previously raised the same concerns with the Met police in 2006 when a trial was considered at the Heathrow Express rail service, and five years ago when the scanners were possibly going to be used as a part of an anti-knife campaign.

Another would be terrorist bites the dust

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:44:10 +0000

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab does not fit the accepted profile of a terrorist, but yet his apparent involvement in Islamist militancy began nonetheless just a step away from Oxford Street at the University College London.

It was here on the manicured tennis courts and lawns that Abdulmutallab first is believed to have started to express his radical views. This is just the first of many truths that investigators are trying to pin down after he attempted to detonate an explosive device on a flight into Detroit, MI in the USA on Christmas Day.

Investigators are not having much luck however, as his tale does not match most terrorists. He was born into a life of extreme riches to Uma Farouk Mutallab who is one of the most prominent businessmen in Nigeria.

An old professor of his at the Togo university school, Michael Rimmer, said that Abdulmutallab was a model student and that he was very polite and actively engaged in his education.

However, he did poignantly remember that after Sept. 11th while other students reacted in the expected fashion including other Muslims students, Abdulmutallab said that he sided with the terrorists and that they possibly had it right.

This has the same feel as the failed Glasgow airport terrorists, who clearly had no funding or support and nothing that resembled a real plan, they were also wealthy and educated and in no way sidelined by British society.

This latest attack gives the impression of a ‘wanabe’ terrorist who saw this as his way to immortality in certain people’s eyes, perhaps he will follow the shoe bomber and become the “hands burnt to bits bomber”.