U.K. Crash Seen Linked to London Bombs
By IAN STEWART
The Associated Press
Saturday, June 30, 2007; 5:10 PM

GLASGOW, Scotland — A Jeep Cherokee trailing a cascade of flames rammed into Glasgow airport on Saturday, shattering glass doors just yards from passengers lined up at the check-in counters. Police said they believed the attack was linked to two car bombs found in London the day before.

Britain raised its terror alert to “critical” the highest possible level and the Bush administration announced plans to increase security at airports and on mass transit.

One of the men in the car was in critical condition at a hospital with severe burns, while the other was in police custody, said Scottish Police Chief Constable Willie Rae. He said a “suspect device” was found on the suspect at the hospital and it was taken to a safe location where it was being investigated.

Rae would not comment further on the device or say whether it could have been a planned suicide attack.

“I can confirm that we believe the incident at Glasgow airport is linked to the events in London yesterday,” Rae said. “There are clearly similarities and we can confirm that this is being treated as a terrorist incident.”

Complete Article
Source: Washington Post
More At: New York Times, Fox News, Reuters

Common Sense Analysis: These attacks appear to be coordinated, however they are pretty pitiful in execution. I would guess that the terrorist group that the perpetrators belong to had little, if any control over the attempted (and one partially successful) attacks. Comments from British Security note that the bombs in the two Mercedes were not made by professionals, and comments from Counter-Terrorist professionals note the lack in planning efforts. Clearly this isn’t the work of well trained trained terrorists.

We can only hope and pray that no attacks are in store for America, especially with our 231st Fourth of July approaching.  For a terrorist there may be a certain feeling attached to that date (like how 9/11 uses the same numbers as the emergency number 911).

Posted under News, News Analysis, Terrorism by Will Gries on Saturday, June 30th 2007; 4:39 pm

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Apparently, a second car bomb was discovered by British authorities. The second car was parked just around the corner from the first and also contained explosives. Thank God both bombs were found and hopefully there are no more that they’ve missed.

More at: Washington Post, USA Today, FoxNews

Posted under News, Terrorism by Will Gries on Friday, June 29th 2007; 3:47 pm

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British Police Defuse Car Bomb in London
By Mary Jordan and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, June 29, 2007; 9:18 AM

LONDON, June 29 — A Mercedes packed with canisters of gas and nails and apparently rigged to explode was discovered in London’s bustling nightclub and theater district early Friday morning, British police said, and could have caused “significant injury or loss of life” if it had been detonated.

Police defused the bomb and launched a massive investigation into what security officials said was presumed to be an attempted terror attack. The probe will include reviewing huge amounts of footage from the closed-circuit cameras that ring the Haymarket area, close to Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square.

Peter Clarke, the head of London’s anti-terrorist police, said authorities did not have intelligence ahead of time of an attack specifically targeting the area, which would have been crowded with theater-goers, nightclub patrons and tourists. But he said police have disrupted other attacks aimed at nightclubs and involving vehicles filled with flammable liquids.

“It’s too early to speculate” who may have been responsible for the bomb, Clarke said in a news conference. “I’m keeping an entirely open mind about that.”

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who took office this week, said the incident underscored the need for constant vigilance by both the public and the police. “The first duty of a government is the security of its people,” Brown said. “We face a serious and considerable security threat throughout the country.”

Complete Article
Source: Washington Post
More at: BBC News, USA Today, New York Times

Common Sense Analysis: I think if this shows us anything, it shows that the threat of terrorism is still real to the Western World. I hope we take a lesson from this before they get back over to us.

Posted under News, News Analysis, Terrorism by Will Gries on Friday, June 29th 2007; 10:04 am

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“Six-Year-Old Afghan Boy Foils Taliban Plot to Use Him in Suicide Attack on Americans
Associated Press

FORWARD OPERATING BASE THUNDER, Afghanistan — The story of a 6-year-old Afghan boy who says he thwarted an effort by Taliban militants to trick him into being a suicide bomber provoked tears and anger at a meeting of tribal leaders.

The account from Juma Gul, a dirt-caked child who collects scrap metal for money, left American soldiers dumbfounded that a youngster could be sent on such a mission. Afghan troops crowded around the boy to call him a hero.

Though the Taliban dismissed the story as propaganda, at a time when U.S. and NATO forces are under increasing criticism over civilian casualties, both Afghan tribal elders and U.S. military officers said they were convinced by his dramatic account.

Juma said that sometime last month Taliban fighters forced him to wear a vest they said would spray out flowers when he touched a button. He said they told him that when he saw American soldiers, “throw your body at them.”

The militants cornered Juma in a Taliban-controlled district in southern Afghanistan’s Ghazni province. Their target was an impoverished youngster being raised by an older sister — but also one who proved too street-smart for their plan.”

Complete Article
Source: Fox News

Common Sense Analysis: My favorite part of this article is when the Taliban spokesman claims the Taliban would never use children because it is against International Law. I actually laughed out loud; it would be illegal to use suicide bombers to kill civilians whether they were children or adults.

Finally we see some resistance to these evil terrorists. I hope the people of the middle east realize the terrible toll that terrorism has on their life and stand up against it.

Posted under News, News Analysis by Will Gries on Tuesday, June 26th 2007; 2:39 pm

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In the wake of the VA Tech tragedy; we have seen how easy it was for the shooter to buy his mass-murder weapon. It hurts us that somebody so mentally disturbed can even touch a gun not to mention use it. Perhaps, if guns weren’t legal then we could easily avoid such a tragedy in the future. Right?

Wrong. It is as simple as the say ‘Guns don’t kill people, people kill people’. This simple phrase sums it up nicely: The gun doesn’t actually kill anyone, it just enables people to kill in a different way. People killed long before guns and people would still kill after they are (if they ever) taken away. Nut-job killers will just have to find a new way to kill people.

Now for a history lesson. The framers intended for us to have guns; they even say so in the second amendment. Why? Well, our country wouldn’t have ever started if it wasn’t for the fact that Americans had guns to fight the British with. We would still be British if it wasn’t for those guns. Furthermore, our founders believed that it was our right to abolish governments that stood in the way of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. They say so in the Declaration of Independence: “…that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…” It becomes very clear that they want us to have guns for our own good; to over throw our government when it begins to oppress.

Let’s consider this for a second. We outlaw guns right now… no citizens have them, however our military and police forces do. Right now, we can consider these forces friendly but what happens in 150 years when the government begins to oppress Americans. Perhaps they even harm us. We have no way to overthrow the government as the founders wanted and we have no way to protect ourselves from our government. Sounds like a terrible situation to me.

If we outlaw guns, will criminals (law breakers) stop using them? NO, of course not: they are law breakers and WILL break the law. They just will have to get their guns from Mexico or other sources which presents two big problems for America. One, we won’t have any record of these guns. When a criminal uses them in a murder, we won’t be able to identify the gun killed the victim and the person who actually committed the crime. And two, criminals will still have guns however law abiding Americans won’t have the right to have a gun for protection. What I mean to say is that currently, criminals have to play it safe not know if the person they are about to rob has a handgun in her jacket or a gun in his shoe. They have to guess and hope; they don’t have the guarantee of safety. Make them certain of what they are doing and they will be almost unstoppable.

What happens to all the guns currently in possession? Lots of professional and amateur hunters spend quite a lot of money on guns. Are we just to force these people to throw away items that they paid quite a bit of money for? What about those people who have guns passed down as family heirlooms? Are we to expect them to throw away something that has been in their family possession for ages?

What happens to the deer population? It is already exploding, I’d hate to see what would happen if we took away all the hunters that are keeping them in check. Our society would experience more car crashes with deer meaning higher costs (insurance) and more fatal accidents.

What would we do with the people that we put of a job? Many, many people make a living off of things relating to the gun industry. Are we really willing to allow these people to lose their jobs?

After examining the issue (and hopefully covering everything), I think that it is pretty safe to say that completely removing guns from our society would be a harmful thing. It would be expensive, it would be economically harming, it would have a small effect on crime, and it would put in a bad place if we ever need to have a change of regime right here in our own country.

Posted under Cultural Battles, Legal, News, Politics by Will Gries on Friday, April 20th 2007; 9:34 pm

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Several clips depicting the Thai king as a monkey were posted on YouTube this past week. Apparently, the Thai Government is extremely offended and has requested that Google (Google owns YouTube) remove the video clips. They view it as an insult to the Thai people and they view it as illegal; insulting the monarchy in Thailand carries a punishment. In fact, recently a Swiss man was sentenced 10 years in prison for defacing a photograph of the King.

I find this a little crazy. Firstly, if somebody is going to play the game; that is be involved in politics whether it be as a President, King, Senator, whatever - they had better be ready to be made fun of. They shouldn’t strike back because somebody is making fun at them; in fact I would say that if they can manage to laugh at themselves they turn out better in the end.

Secondly, the Minister of Information and Technology, Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, is on the record stating that he is a proponent of free speech but will not tolerate materials that offend the monarchy! How contradictory, this guy says he wants free speech and then kills it in the same sentence.

Of course Google made a rather surprise move to refuse aid… they aid the Chinese government in censoring results for Chinese users meaning that Chinese users only receive results approved by the Chinese government. Then again, Thailand had it right, it is all about the money. See Thailand actually only blocked YouTube and not Google so Google can still make money in Thailand plus even if Google was blocked Thailand is such a small market that it wouldn’t break Google’s back to not have it. But not having China would break Google’s back, so that is why they help with the censoring.

“Don’t Be Evil.” Wikipedia. 3 Apr. 2007. Wikipedia. 8 Apr. 2007

“More Clips Mocking Thai King Posted on YouTube.” CNet News. 6 Apr. 2007. cNet. 8 Apr. 2007 http://news.com.com/More+clips+mocking+Thai+king+posted+on+YouTube/2100-1028_3-6174042>.

“YouTube Offers to ‘Educate’ Thai Officials to End Ban Over Videos Mocking Revered King.” FOXNews. 7 Apr. 2007. FOXNews. 8 Apr. 2007

Posted under Comic Relief, Cultural Battles, News, Other, Politics by Will Gries on Monday, April 9th 2007; 3:16 pm

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The story behind the kidnapping of the 15 British sailors has more to it than the Iranian government is revealingly.

There is no doubt in my mind that the 15 British sailors were in Iraqi waters.  I don’t doubt the GPS data released by the British Government proving that they were in legal waters.  I also don’t doubt that they were in Iraqi waters because Iranians frequently move between Iraq and Iran kidnapping and terrorizing as they please.

I think the Iranians who kidnapped the sailors weren’t really aware of their position when they happened upon the 15.  I think they kidnapped, taking the opportunity that was given to them.  I also think that these Iranians don’t report to the President of Iran, but to the religious zealots that practically run Iran.  Now Iran has the hostages and my best guess is that they don’t really know what to do with them now.

They aren’t really of any value to them dead or alive so I don’t see why they are keeping them alive (or in custody).  It seems odd to me that they haven’t already killed them; they know that they won’t get their demands.  So far the have demanded a total British troop withdrawal from Iraq.

The only value that these saliors have the government is to keep the country united, to keep the country from falling apart (which it will eventually, all these regimes of terror will - to be replaced with new regimes of terror or otherwise).  It gives the Government some power; they can say look, here are the beginnings of the invaders.  They will try to charge the country with nationalism; a last ditch effort to keep the country from falling into a revolution.

I also think that they are keeping them to distract the World from the ongoing Nuclear development.  Granted, it will only work for so long but have you heard the media talk about the nukes since the hostage taking?

The British should find where they are keeping the hostages (easier said than done, but the British have a good espionage agency) and rescue them.  Not a Carter style rescue either (unsuccessful) but a rescue that the elite Brits are capable of.  Good Luck and God’s Speed.

Posted under Cultural Battles, News, Politics by Will Gries on Monday, April 2nd 2007; 3:01 pm

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Scientists, politicians, even common people think of solutions to the growing energy crisis that we have everyday here in America. I actually wonder why: the answer is so simple that it almost makes me laugh:

Conservation, Nuclear Power, and Increased Renewable Energy Use.

• Conservation - It seems harder than it actually is. Turn off lights and appliances when you leave the room. DON’T warm up your car for 10 minutes before you leave for work/school. Turn off A/C during the summer when it is not super hot out (below 80 or so). Turn the heat down in your house during the winter and use a propane fireplace (or wood fireplace) to heat instead.

It may not seem like such a big deal to do the things above, and it mean even seem like doing such little things won’t help the overall problem. However, if everyone in American did the above things when possible - then it would be a lot less of an emergency to find alternate fuel sources. It would also cost a lot less to use energy (supply/demand)

• Nuclear Power - We can all agree that Nuclear Power isn’t exactly the cleanest solution to our problems… after all we are wanting a clean source of energy to power ourselves in the future. However, Nuclear Energy isn’t as ‘dirty’ as people imagine. All the bi-products are formed into glass tubes and buried under Government owned law in Nevada (and other places). Nuclear waste should be the least of our worries when dealing with Nuclear Power.

Nuclear Power plants are also extremely safe. One might worry of a nuclear breakdown - however since incidents at the Three-Mile Island plant and Chernobyl, Nuclear Power Plant protocol has become much stricter. Of course security is always going to be a consideration, a Nuclear Power Plant might become a significant target for terrorists, however if security is high at these reactors, it shouldn’t be a problem.

It should be noted that no new Nuclear Plants have been constructed since 1979 (in America) and all [functional] reactors can still be used. However in China and other developing countries, Nuclear Power has become a great energy source.

• Increased Renewable Energy - The most difficult to achieve on the list; renewable energy can and will be obtainable as the demand (because of ever higher energy prices) increases (and of course the supply of renewable energy will need to increase). Of course, it is hoped by the time the masses come to Renewable energy, that the technologies will have evolved to be cheaper and more efficient than their present day counterparts.

It should be noted that if I were to install Solar Panels on my house, any electricity that I do not consume is pumped back into the grid and the Power companies will actually send me a check reimbursing me for helping out. Just a positive to the panels that many people don’t consider (they actually pay for themselves with cash left over for the user).

Posted under Energy, Global Warming, News, Other, Politics by Will Gries on Monday, March 12th 2007; 7:19 pm

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I don’t often hear of the European Union (EU). When I do, its never in a context of what you think an international body would be/should be doing/discussing. It seems the EU spends much of time seeking ways to extract money from Microsoft.

Time after time, Microsoft has been required to pay extreme fines to actually sell their products in Europe. Recently though, the EU decided to take this to another level:

• Microsoft is required to make special editions of it Operating System (Windows), most recently Windows Vista N edition
  • NO software can be bundled…. No Internet Browser, no music software, no instant messaging client. Ironically, if users really wanted to switch web browsers (or whatever else), they would have to access the internet which proves to be impossible without a web browser… End effect: Users are left in a hopeless state.
• Microsoft must share its code with others.
  • This discourages Captialism, which involves companies making products that compete with other products.

It is absolutly crazy! They have to pay idiotic fines (not that they can’t afford to pay the fines) and they lose business because they must give away parts of their code (which in some cases may be given away for free).

I’m glad I live in the US!

Posted under News, Politics, Technology by Will Gries on Thursday, March 1st 2007; 5:47 pm

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I about laughed out of my chair when I heard this on locate news, but apparently during a recent ‘address’, Culver [to Iowans affected by the Winter Storm] instructed people without transportation to call 911 to receive assistance from getting to their homes to the shelter. I can understand what he was trying to get at; the fact that people shouldn’t stay at home in the cold without adequate food or try to leave their houses and walk to the nearest shelter. But honestly, how can you accidentally say to call 9/11? 9/11 is for emergency services only; no doubt they receive plenty of urgent calls in this type of weather; transportation isn’t urgent.

After local police departments complained, the Governor’s office updated their stuff and now urges people to call 211 or 1-800-447-1985.

I guess it is easy to see the mistake, but I just had to say something because I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing… Keep your ears open; I’m sure politicians make silly mistakes like this all the time… especially when they don’t know what they are talking about.

Posted under Local, News by Will Gries on Wednesday, February 28th 2007; 5:25 pm

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