:
VIRTUAL SHEIKH ISSUES WACK (2#) -
The cyber avatar Sheikh Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of Virtual Al-Qaeda in Iraq, has called for the murder of artist Lars Vilks and newspaper editor Ulf Johansson.
The organization also threatened to target Ericsson, Scania, Volvo, IKEA and Electrolux unless an apology is forthcoming for their publication of a cartoon depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad as a dog.
Swedish authorities are analyzing the tape to determine who Sheikh Abu Omar al-Baghdadi is and whether he really exists as a flesh-and-blood person, apart from his existence as a computer-generated avatar. [afp/tt/local]
***********************************
Nerikes Allehanda, the Swedish newspaper,
published the cartoon on Aug 19th.
"No photo has ever appeared of al-Baghdadi, whom the U.S. describes as a fictitious character used to give an Iraqi face to an organization dominated by foreigners.
The U.S. has said that under interrogation, a top al-Qaida member revealed that al-Baghdadi's speeches are read by an actor." [ap/e&p]
...
Saturday, September 15
:
NEW GOOSE CREEK DETAILS (2#) -
... potassium nitrate,
Karo syrup and kitty litter ...
Youssef Samir Megahed, indicted on explosives charges, may be released from custody under certain conditions.
Contents of the auto trunk included "three pieces of piping cut into small sections, each filled with a "potassium nitrate explosive mixture."
*Also found in the car were 20 feet of fuse, a box of .22-caliber bullets, a drill that could have been used to "perhaps insert a fuse" into the explosive devices, and a partially filled 5-gallon gasoline container, Hoffer said.
Authorities also found a .22-caliber rifle with a scope in a storage shed used by Megahed, Hoffer said.*
Jihadi material was found on the confiscated laptop. And a *video, which Mohamed has acknowledged he made, shows "how to turn a radio controlled car into a detonator that could be used for an explosive," Hoffer said.*
**********************************
::More:: about that explosive mixture:
*deputies found four small sections of PVC pipe, at least three of which were stuffed with a 'potassium nitrate explosive mixture' of potassium nitrate, Karo syrup and kitty litter, Hoffer said. He said the kitty litter served as a binder to keep the substance from coming out of the pipes, which were not capped.*
...
NEW GOOSE CREEK DETAILS (2#) -
... potassium nitrate,
Karo syrup and kitty litter ...
Youssef Samir Megahed, indicted on explosives charges, may be released from custody under certain conditions.
Contents of the auto trunk included "three pieces of piping cut into small sections, each filled with a "potassium nitrate explosive mixture."
*Also found in the car were 20 feet of fuse, a box of .22-caliber bullets, a drill that could have been used to "perhaps insert a fuse" into the explosive devices, and a partially filled 5-gallon gasoline container, Hoffer said.
Authorities also found a .22-caliber rifle with a scope in a storage shed used by Megahed, Hoffer said.*
Jihadi material was found on the confiscated laptop. And a *video, which Mohamed has acknowledged he made, shows "how to turn a radio controlled car into a detonator that could be used for an explosive," Hoffer said.*
**********************************
::More:: about that explosive mixture:
*deputies found four small sections of PVC pipe, at least three of which were stuffed with a 'potassium nitrate explosive mixture' of potassium nitrate, Karo syrup and kitty litter, Hoffer said. He said the kitty litter served as a binder to keep the substance from coming out of the pipes, which were not capped.*
...
Friday, September 14
:
SPINNING OSAMA (5#) -
# Said Namouh, 35, has been arrested in Canada. He is suspected of being associated with the Global Islamic Media Front which is a propaganda website for al Qaida. "Documents" have been seized from his home.
# More about the Moroccan-born Namouh.
# Related story at Spiegel.
# Vienna GIMF arrrests: "The GIMF has an aggregating function with the terrorist material in that they re-format and alter (it) to make it more attractive."
# Terror goes digital: "It started with a single memo, dated June 20, 2000. Abu Huthayfa, a member of al-Qaeda's inner circle, was writing to his mentor, Osama bin Laden, about the importance of public relations."
...
SPINNING OSAMA (5#) -
# Said Namouh, 35, has been arrested in Canada. He is suspected of being associated with the Global Islamic Media Front which is a propaganda website for al Qaida. "Documents" have been seized from his home.
# More about the Moroccan-born Namouh.
# Related story at Spiegel.
# Vienna GIMF arrrests: "The GIMF has an aggregating function with the terrorist material in that they re-format and alter (it) to make it more attractive."
# Terror goes digital: "It started with a single memo, dated June 20, 2000. Abu Huthayfa, a member of al-Qaeda's inner circle, was writing to his mentor, Osama bin Laden, about the importance of public relations."
...
:
ON THE FRONTLINE OF LAUGHS -
Pillow Talk is a computer-animated
satire in Urdu on Pakistan's Geo TV.
"It is one of several satires that have emerged amid this year's political turmoil, making Pakistanis chuckle into
their tea."
The funnies are on the frontline of a TV revolution.
From Declan Walsh in Karachi. [guard]
...
ON THE FRONTLINE OF LAUGHS -
Pillow Talk is a computer-animated
satire in Urdu on Pakistan's Geo TV.
"It is one of several satires that have emerged amid this year's political turmoil, making Pakistanis chuckle into
their tea."
The funnies are on the frontline of a TV revolution.
From Declan Walsh in Karachi. [guard]
...
:
SOME RAMADAN NOTES (4#) -
# Mosalsalat: "From the inane to the entertaining, the cliché to the shocking, the Ramadan TV deluge has something for every television fanatic." And Sherif Awad gives you the inside scoop.
# Salam Adil posts his Iraqi Blogodrome
dispatch for this week at Global Voices.
# Florence Pia G Yu at the Gulf News
picks her sampling of the Middle East
Blogosphere for this week.
# "Soldiers from the UAE armed forces shoot off a cannon to herald the end of the day's fast, in the parking lot of Safa Park. The cannon shot is a favourite spectacle among local residents, who show up to witness the event." An entire section of special Ramadan coverage.
...
SOME RAMADAN NOTES (4#) -
# Mosalsalat: "From the inane to the entertaining, the cliché to the shocking, the Ramadan TV deluge has something for every television fanatic." And Sherif Awad gives you the inside scoop.
# Salam Adil posts his Iraqi Blogodrome
dispatch for this week at Global Voices.
# Florence Pia G Yu at the Gulf News
picks her sampling of the Middle East
Blogosphere for this week.
# "Soldiers from the UAE armed forces shoot off a cannon to herald the end of the day's fast, in the parking lot of Safa Park. The cannon shot is a favourite spectacle among local residents, who show up to witness the event." An entire section of special Ramadan coverage.
...
Thursday, September 13
:
WHOSE NEWS ? -
"The news about the news: editors and readers do not agree. It is sobering for journalists to realise that what they think is important, and therefore, what they think people should be reading, is not shared by their readers."
Prof Greenslade has some interesting
things to say about the study results.
:: Greenslade :: The Guardian
...
WHOSE NEWS ? -
"The news about the news: editors and readers do not agree. It is sobering for journalists to realise that what they think is important, and therefore, what they think people should be reading, is not shared by their readers."
Prof Greenslade has some interesting
things to say about the study results.
:: Greenslade :: The Guardian
...
:
OSAMA BIN HEADROOM ? (3#) -
"Researcher: Bin Laden's
beard is real, video is not."
By Robert Vamosi ::CNET::
**********************************
# Max Headroom:
*The recording will then be used to create a computer-based replacement for Carter in order to hide his death. The resulting program achieves a life of its own as the eccentric, unpredictable entity adopting the name Max Headroom.*
:: Max Headroom :: in wikipedia ::
***********************************
+ I don't think it matters very much how much
the video has been manipulated. It's become a
Media Event. Even so, I found it interesting
to read about.
...
OSAMA BIN HEADROOM ? (3#) -
"Researcher: Bin Laden's
beard is real, video is not."
By Robert Vamosi ::CNET::
**********************************
# Max Headroom:
*The recording will then be used to create a computer-based replacement for Carter in order to hide his death. The resulting program achieves a life of its own as the eccentric, unpredictable entity adopting the name Max Headroom.*
:: Max Headroom :: in wikipedia ::
***********************************
+ I don't think it matters very much how much
the video has been manipulated. It's become a
Media Event. Even so, I found it interesting
to read about.
...
Wednesday, September 12
:
BAD, MAD AND
JUST WINDING YOU UP (3#) -
... some loose links ...
# Journalistopia has a Crime Maps Directory
on which the Tampa Tribune is listed. None
so far for Broward County... and don't hold
your breath for it either. [via m.stabe]
# Is Haq the New Hook?
The UK Anorak investigates.
# True or Urban Legend? "In the US,
crack squirrels are a recognised problem
in New York and Washington DC parks."
The verdict is not in yet.
...
BAD, MAD AND
JUST WINDING YOU UP (3#) -
... some loose links ...
# Journalistopia has a Crime Maps Directory
on which the Tampa Tribune is listed. None
so far for Broward County... and don't hold
your breath for it either. [via m.stabe]
# Is Haq the New Hook?
The UK Anorak investigates.
# True or Urban Legend? "In the US,
crack squirrels are a recognised problem
in New York and Washington DC parks."
The verdict is not in yet.
...
:
BIN LADEN, ESTRANGEMENT,
AND THE MEDIA MATRIX (3#) -
"There's a menace in Osama's message,"
Michael Scheuer tells us...
In his recent speech, The Solution, Osama bin Laden gives a kind of shout-out to Michael Scheuer. Now Mr Scheuer responds to the speech with his own reactions. And it's a worthwhile read.
# Meanwhile, the techno-media skillz displayed in this production have not escaped notice either:
"Someone in Hollywood better call Bruce Willis to fight and kill the sheikh in Die Hard 5," Pepe Escobar writes in a
lively dispatch.
# Then, in a more serious vein, Joby Warrick reveals more about the technical aspects of the video capture and transmission of the speech.
...
BIN LADEN, ESTRANGEMENT,
AND THE MEDIA MATRIX (3#) -
"There's a menace in Osama's message,"
Michael Scheuer tells us...
In his recent speech, The Solution, Osama bin Laden gives a kind of shout-out to Michael Scheuer. Now Mr Scheuer responds to the speech with his own reactions. And it's a worthwhile read.
# Meanwhile, the techno-media skillz displayed in this production have not escaped notice either:
"Someone in Hollywood better call Bruce Willis to fight and kill the sheikh in Die Hard 5," Pepe Escobar writes in a
lively dispatch.
# Then, in a more serious vein, Joby Warrick reveals more about the technical aspects of the video capture and transmission of the speech.
...
Tuesday, September 11
:
BIN LADEN: THE SOLUTION (6#) -
... with some extra notes ...
# "Bin Laden misquotes Guardian video content: To the long list of crimes committed by Osama bin Laden a new one can now be added: manipulation of the media. In his latest video address, released last Friday, the al-Qaida leader refers to a film made by the Guardian in Iraq and misquotes the contents of the documentary to suit his own
dramatic effect." [guard]
# "In détournement, an artist reuses elements of well-known media to create a new work with a different message, often one opposed to the original."
# Guy Debord, Situationism and
The Society of the Spectacle.
# Antonin Artaud and the Theatre of Cruelty.
# Transcript of Bin Laden video and
link to that video, credit to SITE Institute.
+ Yes, I read the transcript.
He's a cult leader and it's just
another cult, as far as I'm concerned.
...
BIN LADEN: THE SOLUTION (6#) -
... with some extra notes ...
# "Bin Laden misquotes Guardian video content: To the long list of crimes committed by Osama bin Laden a new one can now be added: manipulation of the media. In his latest video address, released last Friday, the al-Qaida leader refers to a film made by the Guardian in Iraq and misquotes the contents of the documentary to suit his own
dramatic effect." [guard]
# "In détournement, an artist reuses elements of well-known media to create a new work with a different message, often one opposed to the original."
# Guy Debord, Situationism and
The Society of the Spectacle.
# Antonin Artaud and the Theatre of Cruelty.
# Transcript of Bin Laden video and
link to that video, credit to SITE Institute.
+ Yes, I read the transcript.
He's a cult leader and it's just
another cult, as far as I'm concerned.
...
Monday, September 10
:
THE END OF NEWS ON PAPER? (2#) -
"-30- The Collapse of the Great American Newspaper is a compendium of 15 mostly gloomy views of what's happening, what can be done about it and why you should care about newspapers - or about how you get news
at all." [strib]
************************************
"And nobody should ever read a newspaper out of a dreary sense of civic obligation. Like great books, the best news shops have always drawn readers because they were feisty, well executed, and thrillingly alive to their
own times." [njourn]
...
THE END OF NEWS ON PAPER? (2#) -
"-30- The Collapse of the Great American Newspaper is a compendium of 15 mostly gloomy views of what's happening, what can be done about it and why you should care about newspapers - or about how you get news
at all." [strib]
************************************
"And nobody should ever read a newspaper out of a dreary sense of civic obligation. Like great books, the best news shops have always drawn readers because they were feisty, well executed, and thrillingly alive to their
own times." [njourn]
...
:
PALE PERIWINKLE: 9/11/07 (3#) -
# Mark Steyn writes a piquant and thought-provoking
essay on almost the 6th anniversary of 9/11:
"You launch an act of war, and the victims respond
with a lawsuit against their own countrymen."
Some people seem to think
that's The American Way.
:: Terror alert fatigue? ::
***********************************
# The "Inside Job" guys in the pub and
# Top 10 Conspiracy Theories.
...
PALE PERIWINKLE: 9/11/07 (3#) -
# Mark Steyn writes a piquant and thought-provoking
essay on almost the 6th anniversary of 9/11:
"You launch an act of war, and the victims respond
with a lawsuit against their own countrymen."
Some people seem to think
that's The American Way.
:: Terror alert fatigue? ::
***********************************
# The "Inside Job" guys in the pub and
# Top 10 Conspiracy Theories.
...
Sunday, September 9
:
Bookish: WEEKEND BUNCH (3#) -
# Clayton Moore posts a hurried but
interesting grab bag of notes for a
Sept column at Mystery Strumpet.
# And Coleen Mondor reviews two
murder mystery novels by Cara Black
which, she says, are a very atmospheric
rendition of the seedier side of Paris.
# Stephanie Merritt writes an
interview-type feature story about the
Egyptian dentist/author Dr Alaa al Aswany
who wrote The Yacoubian Building.
Recommended. [observer]
...
Bookish: WEEKEND BUNCH (3#) -
# Clayton Moore posts a hurried but
interesting grab bag of notes for a
Sept column at Mystery Strumpet.
# And Coleen Mondor reviews two
murder mystery novels by Cara Black
which, she says, are a very atmospheric
rendition of the seedier side of Paris.
# Stephanie Merritt writes an
interview-type feature story about the
Egyptian dentist/author Dr Alaa al Aswany
who wrote The Yacoubian Building.
Recommended. [observer]
...
:
IT'S HEAVY METAL, DUDE ! (2#) -
# "A Californian heavy metal fan... has been fingered as the author of Osama bin Laden's latest video lecture - which left the terror chief sounding like an anti-globalisation protester...
American spy chiefs were quick to name Adam Gadahn, the head of al-Qaeda's English language media operations, as the author of large sections of bin Laden's broadcast."
Gedahn, who used to review albums for a metal music magazine, moved to Pakistan in 1998 and now calls himself Azzam. [t.shipman]
# Not So Maah-velous! - Among the reactions to Osama Bin Laden's latest video, Manolo thinks that Osama's new look is just not working for him in Osama bin Metrosexual.
...
IT'S HEAVY METAL, DUDE ! (2#) -
# "A Californian heavy metal fan... has been fingered as the author of Osama bin Laden's latest video lecture - which left the terror chief sounding like an anti-globalisation protester...
American spy chiefs were quick to name Adam Gadahn, the head of al-Qaeda's English language media operations, as the author of large sections of bin Laden's broadcast."
Gedahn, who used to review albums for a metal music magazine, moved to Pakistan in 1998 and now calls himself Azzam. [t.shipman]
# Not So Maah-velous! - Among the reactions to Osama Bin Laden's latest video, Manolo thinks that Osama's new look is just not working for him in Osama bin Metrosexual.
...
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