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Fear is the mindkiller: surely some co-incidence!?
Bioterror: fear of the invisible; threataganda...
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UK Ricin scare non-existent
In April 2004 ten Iraqis and North Africans were arrested in the north of England on suspicion of planning to bomb Manchester United's football stadium. The individuals were detained for eight days but no charges were made. It later emerged that the so called terrorists were Manchester United fans and the supposedly incriminating tickets were for a game two years previously.
Similarly in December 2002 nine Algerian men were arrested for supposedly setting up a ricin poison factory. No ricin was ever found and no criminal charges were brought. As with the war in Iraq the evidence is non-existent.
socialist review
Kerry says threat of terrorism is exaggerated - Wash Times
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Scientists say bioterror threat 'exaggerated'
Tom Inch, who chairs the UK chemical weapons convention advisory committee, told the meeting that if terrorists used a chemical agent in a confined space such as the London Underground, "some people would die but not a huge number high explosives would be far more dangerous." Fear and panic would probably do more harm than a nerve agent or toxin such as ricin.
The problem for terrorists, Dr Inch said, is that even the deadliest chemicals are extremely difficult to distribute in a way that causes mass casulties.
unknown news scrapbook
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Since the 9/11 attacks hundreds of people have been arrested in the UK under anti-terror laws, but only a handful convicted. - BBC
MI5 chief reveals terror threat
In her lecture hosted by City of London police, she also defended the government over accusations it had tried to manipulate public opinion before the Iraq war by sending in troops to protect Heathrow Airport from a terrorist attack.
She said the accusation the government had sent tanks to Heathrow Airport in February as a cynical ploy was "quite wrong".
BBC
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What do they hope to acheive?
Same levels of fear as seen in the USA
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Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim-Americans, according to a nationwide poll.
Dec. 17, 2004 ITHACA, N.Y. - The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious.
Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim-Americans.
Its sad news. Its disturbing news. But its not unpredictable, said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society. The nation is at war, even if its not a traditional war. We just have to remain vigilant and continue to interface.
The survey found 44 percent favored at least some restrictions on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. Forty-eight percent said liberties should not be restricted in any way.
The survey showed that 27 percent of respondents supported requiring all Muslim-Americans to register where they lived with the federal government. Twenty-two percent favored racial profiling to identify potential terrorist threats. And 29 percent thought undercover agents should infiltrate Muslim civic and volunteer organizations to keep tabs on their activities and fund-raising. - The Associated Press
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Blair : War on terror NOT a war on muslims
because we have agreed to let Turkey enter the EU in TEN YEARS TIME!!!
The Prime Minister said the decision to start talks was characterised by a feeling of "people wanting to work together and come together".
He added: "Even though this is obviously over a significant timeframe, this is very important and I think it's a good day for Europe, for Turkey and for the wider world."
Mr Blair suggested that it would be "at least a decade before this membership comes about".
He admitted 'concerns' existed over religious issues, but insisted: "The important thing is that we're stating as a fundamental principle the fact that [just because] Turkey is a Muslim country does not mean it should be barred from the European Union.
"That is a very, very important signal right across the world."
The decision would increase security and prosperity in Europe and the wider world, he added.
The Prime Minister also stressed that Turkey would be treated the same as the previous accession countries and that the "Copenhagen criteria will apply".
source
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had earlier said that the offer to Turkey of a firm start date for negotiations for their entry into the European Union was a 'very big prize'. - PMs statement
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Turkey and the United States have an important strategic relationship,Turkey's democracy is an important example for the people in the broader Middle East, and I want to thank you for your leadership."
Bush to Erdogan in front of the cameras
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Turkeys big EU prize? For what? Censoring news on Iraq?
"I'm being interviewed by many outlets. Today, one of them was by reporters for one of the larger newspapers in Turkey, the Yeni Safak Newspaper.
I'll leave the reporters nameless, for reasons you'll soon see.
The newspaper has been translating various articles of mine into Turkish and running them, particularly those concerning the most recent Fallujah massacre. The report who was interviewing me today told me that the former American consulate here, Eric Edelman, asked the Prime Minister of Turkey to pressure his paper to not run so many of my stories.
"Why did he do this," I asked him.
"Edelman said it was the wrong news," he told me with a smile.
Turns out Edelman also asked that articles by Robert Fisk and Naomi Klein not be run so often in Yeni Safak either."
Dahr Jamail via rense
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er Drug running?
The FBIs Office of International Operations, in conjunction with the CIA and the US State Department counter-narcotics section, the United Kingdoms MI6, Israels Mossad, Pakistans ISI, the US DEA, Turkeys MIT, and the governments and intelligence agencies of dozens of nations, were in one way or another involved in the illicit drug trade either trying to stop it or benefit from it. What can be surmised from the public record is that from 1998 to September 10, 2001, the War on Drugs kept bumping into the nascent War on Terror and new directions in US foreign policy.-
It's easy to imagine the thousands of drug couriers, middlemen, financiers and lab technicians moving back and forth between Pakistan and Turkey, and over to Western Europe and the United States, and the tidbits of information they gleaned from their sponsors as they traveled. As information gathering assets for the intelligence agencies of the world, they must have been invaluable. And given the dozens of foreign intelligence services working the in the counter-narcotics/terrorism fields, the "chatter" that just dozens of well-placed operatives may have overheard about attacks against Western targets must have found its way into the US intelligence apparatus. But, again, who could believe the audacity of non-state actors organizing a domestic attack against the supreme power of the day, the USA? Implementing a new strategic direction and business deals may have overcome the wacky warnings from the counter-narcotics folks.
Back in the late 1990's and early 2000, who would have believed the rants of a drug courier from Afghanistan saying that some guy named Bin Laden was going to attack America, particularly if it involved America's newest friend, Turkey? Or that a grand design to reshape Central Asia and the Middle East with Turkey and Israel as pivot points was being pushed by the Clinton Administration as a matter of national policy.
A Fantastic Tale
Turkey, Drugs, Faustian Alliances & Sibel Edmonds -
John Stanton
Former CIA/DIA deep-cover agent "Chip" Tatum reveals more disturbing details about high-level control of global drug-running and money-laundering operations -
by David G. Guyatt [part 1][part 2]
"Faced with their biggest crisis of the post-war period, the end of the Red Menace which justified the budgets, the careers and the gongs, they have emerged with budgets renewed, new agendas approved; untouched by the politicians, unsupervised by anyone, still - we are not supposed to laugh - still accountable to the Crown not Parliament ( i.e. to no-one). Both MI6 and MI5 have reacted to the new conditions post Cold War in thoroughly competent, even creative ways. Needing something something to justify the budget, MI6 picked the international drug trade. Far as I know, since MI6 joined the 'war against drugs' the price of cocaine and heroin in the UK at street level has halved: it is now cheaper to get off your face, as they say in Hull, on smack than it is on alcohol. And didn't I read a few months ago that MI6 had persuaded Clare Short to task them to provide her with early warning of coups in the developing world? An honest-to-goodness license to do anything, anywhere. Only a Labour government, timid and ignorant, would fall for a proposal as preposterous as that one. " - lobster-magazine
MI5 is linked to death of drugs baron 'Popeye'
Customs demand answers over smuggler whose exploits cost life of heroic agent
WHEN the millionaire drugs baron known as "Popeye" absconded from prison, the criminal underworld was sure that his friends in the British security services had helped Roddy McLean to escape.
[snip] agents are also angry at the apparent reluctance of their own officers to demand a full, public investigation. The Prison Service has yet to fully explain why McLean, a category-A convict, was moved so quickly to Leyhill open prison in south Gloucestershire, which has the worst record in Britain for absconders.
He lied to the authorities about wanting a transfer to be closer to his wife, who had just bought a home in Edinburgh. On a Saturday in November 2003 McLean was allowed out of prison for a day release.
A van-load of MI5 agents are alleged to have been waiting for him. They are said to have given him a fresh set of clothes. a new identity and fake documents and slipped him on to a ferry to Ireland.
McLean travelled on to Wexford on the southeast coast to make contact with fellow smugglers, who would help him to get in touch with a notorious London-based crime family. The authorities were desperate to discover the heroin- smuggling routes that the Turkish-Cypriot crime clan were using. Within 24 hours of his escape, McLean, who gained the nickname "Popeye" because of his love of the sea, was sailing for a rendezvous with a Spanish fishing boat to pick up a consignment of cannabis. -
timesonline.co.uk
Cover-up of Convenience-the Hidden Scandal of Lockerbie
who they really are and why they are really interested in drugs
watch:
SPY SECRETS: playing dirty from the History channel
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'We are a NATO Member, We are Not Afraid of Iran'
By Anadolu News Agency (aa), Washington Published: Sunday, March 19, 2006 zaman.com
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said there is no reason for NATO member Turkey to be afraid of Iran.
Talking to the Wall Street Journal, Erdogan replied to the question “Are you worried about Iran’s nuclear program?”
as “Why should we be afraid? As you know we are a member of NATO. We were a neighbor of the Soviet Union for a long time and were not scared during those days either.”
Robert Pollock reminded Erdogan the movie “Kurtlar Vadisi” (Valley of the Wolves), which was criticized for being anti-American, and made a joke to Erdogan saying “Be careful, they may not let you in the US!”
Erdogan evaluated the movie and said, “For example Abu Gharib Prison, we saw it on TV. And now it is Guantanamo Bay on the agenda of the World press. Of course this film might have been influenced by these.”
Asked about HAMAS’ surprise visit to Ankara, Erdogan noted: “We cannot defend that the election results in Palestine were not as we wanted and we did not accept the elections. The thing we should do is to support these people and make them drop their guns.”
The newspaper commented on Erdogan as the most popular Turkish politician after Seventh President Turgut Ozal and added there is no serious competitor against Erdogan in the elections next year.
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spot the subliminal message!!!
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Terror is the cover story:
The threat is most likely to come from those people associated with an extreme form of Islam, or who are falsely hiding behind Islam.
If a threat is from a particular place then our action is going to be targeted at that area.
It means that some of our counter-terrorism powers will be disproportionately experienced by the Muslim community.
It was a reality that should be recognized.
Home Office minister Hazel Blears
Welcome to Perception Central - William Bowles
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UK police
John Fazey - former police inspector and prospective BNP Euro candidate. With up to 12 Midlands police exposed as BNP members, police resolve is questioned about committment to anti-racism.
BNP member, Phazey, describes police racism: "Of course you heard words like 'paki' and 'nigger' but it didn't mean any more than someone saying Paddy for an Irishman or Jerry for a German... I remember there was one officer who, whenever an Asian officer came into the room, would go 'coon, coon' like he was making the noise of a pigeon."
TWAFA
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John Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, writes for the News of the world??? [prop. R.Murdoch]
John Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, was at the centre of a political row yesterday after he warned that 200 "Osama Bin Laden-trained terrorists" are "walking Britain's streets".
Sir John, who five weeks ago was given a peerage personally by Tony Blair, said the terrorists - some of whom are born in Britain - would "commit devastating terror attacks against us if they could".
Sir John, writing in the News of the World, said it was "vital" that the Government's Prevention of Terrorism Act was "enacted as soon as possible".
He accused the detainees in Belmarsh, locked up for years without trial, of being "a group of al-Qa'ida's spiritual leaders" and criticised the Law Lords for saying they should be freed under human rights laws. This would allow them to "continue propagating their perverted brand of Islamic fundamentalism into impressionable minds". - Independent
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Jason Burke, author of Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam, told the BBC's Today programme that the main threat was from those with no previous convictions who felt it was their religious duty to act.
"That's where the threat comes from, not from 200-Osama Bin Laden trained militants 'stalking the streets'," he said. - BBC
I think the term al-Qaeda, particularly now, is of dubious use when trying to describe the phenomenon of contemporary Islami Suni Muslim militancy. Al-Qaeda is commonly perceived to be a tight-knight terrorist organization led by bin Laden. Something that comes close to that description existed in Afghanistan between around 1997 and 2001. That entity no longer exists. - Buzzflash interview with Jason Burke |
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Sir Ian Blair, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police,
In 1999, he was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for Distinguished Service and he was awarded a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours, 2003, for his services to policing. In Feburary 2005, Sir Ian Blair succeeded Sir John Stevens as the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
"I have long been in favour of intercept evidence being used in court. The court can then weigh it up. At the moment, nobody can test it," Sir Ian told the Daily Telegraph.
"In policing terms (the use of intercept evidence) would make my job much easier," he added. -source |
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Sir Ian Blair has made some controversial partisan remarks on BBC television, on the supposed need for even more terrorism laws (as if there are not far too many already), and which add to the "Climate of Fear" by raising the possability of bubonic plague attacks.
He also called for "iris scan" ID cards, another New Labour Party only policy, right in the middle of the General Election campaign.
Partial transcript from BBC1 television "Breakfast with Frost"
Sunday 17th April 2005:
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DF - Sir David Frost, TV interviewer IB - Sir Ian Blair , the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
DF: [voiceover]
The case has shed more light on this, on the terrorist threat here, and I have been discussing this, and other issues with Britain's, most senior Police Officer, Sir Ian Blair, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
We talked in his office at Scotland Yard, and I began by asking him what general conclusions he drew, what lessons he drew , from last week's events:
IB: There, there's real clarity, now, that, er, Al-Quaida affiliates are targetting Britain, that's the first thing.
Secondly, I think we always have to mourn, the death of, er, Stephen Oake.
Thirdly, the important point is to say, this is one individual, arhh, this is not the whole Muslim community. Ninety nine point nine per cent of Muslims and ninety nine cent, per cent of Asians are law abiding people.
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For such a "Politically Correct" Policeman, he should not be confusing "Asians" with "Muslims". There are billions of "Asians" who are non-Muslim and millions of Muslims who are non-Asian - spyblog
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Fake terror story;
Britain's '9/11' foiled by security forces
Security forces thwart al-Qaeda plan to attack Canary Wharf and Heathrow
Security chiefs claim they have foiled four or five terrorist attacks
Upcoming Queens speech expected to be dominated by security
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Mr Blair said New Labour recognised the kind of challenges faced by the UK.
"If we want to help the British people cope with economic globalisation, terrorism, organised crime, the pressures of modern work and family life we have to change radically the way public services, the welfare state and the criminal justice system work."
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more than coincidence?
Britain would be safer from a terrorist attack under Labour than any other party, Peter Hain has said.
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Just how far
are they going to go?
Mr Clarke defended the tough new law. He reminded MPs that the Madrid bombings took place during the Spanish general election campaign.
"Maybe such things can always be possibilities here too," he said. - February 2005
As we move towards a system of justice that found favour with the South African Government at the time of apartheid and which parallels Burmese justice today, if hon. Members will pardon the oxymoron, I am reminded that our fathers fought and died for liberty - my own father literally - believing that these things should not happen here, and we would never allow them to happen here. But now we know better. The unthinkable, the unimaginable, is happening here. - Hackney MP Brian Sedgemore - Hansard
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Police Commissioner parrots the official line...
Election and wedding make Britain 'prime terror target'
13:05pm 24th February 2005 Britain's most senior police officer issued a stark warning today about the risk of a terrorist attack in the run-up to the General Election.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said there were several factors which made Britain a high profile target for a possible terrorist strike.
These included the Royal wedding of the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles and Britain's presidency of the G8 and European Union, he said.
Sir Ian warned that terrorists would remember the effect the Madrid bombing had on the Spanish general election last March.
The Spanish electorate, unhappy at their government's handling of the fallout of the attacks, which killed more than 170 rush hour commuters, used the election to unseat the ruling Conservative party in favour of the Socialist opposition - which had pledged to pull Spanish troops out of Iraq.
Terrorists have 'long memories'
Addressing a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority today, Sir Ian said it would be "unwise" for him to speculate about whether there was any specific information relating to the risk of an attack here in the run up to the election.
However, he said: "Terrorists have long memories. They understand what happened in Madrid and know what the impact of that was on the Spanish electorate.
- Mail
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Interpol sounds bio-terror alarm
The world is ill prepared for the looming threat of a biological terror attack, the head of Interpol has said.
Ronald Noble told the BBC the danger of an al-Qaeda attack had not diminished since the 9/11 strikes on the US.
The head of the global police body also denied governments had played up the risks for political gain.
"I don't think it is the sounding of false alarms," Mr Noble said, citing recent evidence. "I think the alarm is real and it is continuing to ring."
'Millions at risk'
Recent attacks around the world; indications that al-Qaeda plans to use biological and chemical weapons; and its statements claiming "the right to kill up to 4 million people" are "enough evidence for me to be concerned", Mr Noble said.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Ten O'Clock News, he warned that the potential cost of a biological terror attack left no room for complacency.
"When you talk about bio-terrorism, that's one crime we can't try to solve after it happens because the harm will be too great."
"How could we ever forgive ourselves if millions or hundreds... or tens of thousands of people were killed simply because our priorities did not include bio-terrorism?" - BBC FEAR
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Secret courts
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) is one of the most controversial - and certainly the most secret court within English law.
It is the venue of appeal for foreign nationals facing detention, deportation or exclusion from the UK on grounds of national security. It has the same powers as the High Court and is presided over by senior judges.
Siac's hearings and rulings are never fully revealed to the public - or to the appellant themselves - because they include testimony from members of the secret security services which the government says it cannot divulge. BBC
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'freed' prisoners still guilty? OF WHAT?
Being a muslim?
"Their release from the Cuba camp was secured after the US concluded they presented a low risk.
The five returning men are Shafiq Rasul, 24, Asif Iqbal, 20, and Ruhal Ahmed, 21, all of Tipton, West Midlands, Jamal Al-Harith - also known as Jamal Udeen - 35, of Manchester, and Tarek Dergoul, 24, of east London.
Uniformed police officers, acting as an escort team on behalf of the government, and two independent observers, including one from the
Muslim community, are also on the flight.
Medical teams are on hand to examine them and provide treatment if
required. Under the Terrorism Act, the men could be detained for up to
nine hours while immigration staff or police verify their details.
Guantanamo Britons due to arrive
At-a-glance: Guantanamo Bay Britons
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Jamal al-Harith, 37, who arrived home three days ago after two years of confinement, is the first detainee to lift the lid on the US regime in Cuba's Camp X-Ray and Camp Delta.
The father-of-three, from Manchester, told how he was assaulted with fists, feet and batons after refusing a mystery injection.
He said detainees were shackled for up to 15 hours at a time in hand and leg cuffs with metal links which cut into the skin.
Their "cells" were wire cages with concrete floors and open to the elements - giving no privacy or protection from the rats, snakes and scorpions loose around the American base.
He claims punishment beatings were handed out by guards known as the Extreme Reaction Force. They waded into inmates in full riot-gear, raining blows on them.
Prisoners faced psychological torture and mind-games in attempts to make them confess to acts they had never committed. Even petty breaches of rules brought severe punishment.
My Hell in Camp X-Ray
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"A British Muslim man detained by Anti-Terrorist Police in London was terrorised despite making NO attempt to resist arrest. Police forced him to prostrate with his arms in cuffs and taunted him by saying, "Where is your God now?"
The detainee, after being kicked and punched all over his body, suffered over 40 injuries including urinary bleeding, a black eye and severe bruising. (London December 2003)"
544 arrested under Terrorism Act 2000 in Britain between 11 September attacks and 31 January Only 98 were charged under it (Home Office Statistics)
Of those, less than 5 have been convicted 17 foreign nationals have been held without charge under emergency powers granted in 2001.
Their only crime was that they were practicising their religion
Community groups describe this as "racial profiling," i.e. considering somebody suspicious because of their style of dress
Many being arrested then released without charge is evidence of "fishing expeditions" by the Police.
And what is the result? 450+ Muslims harassed, abused, loss of jobs, trauma and to date, NO apology or compensation
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stop police terror
defending...FREEDOM!!!???
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yet again: four interrogated after YEARS of Guantanamo captivity
Guantanamo four arrive back in UK
The last four British men held as terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay have arrived back in the UK, after almost three years in US custody.
The men, one from Birmingham and three from London, were held after the US accused them of having al-Qaeda links.
The RAF C-17 plane carrying Moazzam Begg, Martin Mubanga, Richard Belmar and Feroz Abbasi touched down at RAF Northolt in west London.
They were arrested on arrival and taken to Paddington Green police station.
After the plane touched down, a police van was driven on board and later left the base, taking the men to the central London station.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said the four had been arrested under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which refers to the alleged involvement in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism - BBC
NOTE : MI6 interrogated these suspects 9 times in Guantanomo Bay -
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these people are labelled Terrorist...by neo-nazi, neo-cons
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The UK Government is breaking the law by holding
foreign 'terror' suspects
without trial or access to lawyers
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Terror detainees win Lords appeal
Detaining foreign terrorist suspects without trial breaks human rights laws, the UK's highest court has ruled.
In a blow to the government's anti-terror measures, the House of Lords ruled by an eight to one majority in favour of appeals by nine detainees.
The Law Lords said the measures were incompatible with European human rights laws, but Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the men would remain in prison.
He said the measures would "remain in force" until the law was reviewed.
Most of the men are being held indefinitely in Belmarsh prison, south London.
- BBC
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"I now feel that whatever difference I might make as a Special Advocate on the inside is outweighed by the operation of a law that is fundamentally flawed and contrary to our deepest notions of justice."
"My role has been altered to provide a false legitimacy to indefinite detention without knowledge of the accusations being made and without any kind of criminal charge or trial."
"Such a law is an odious blot on our legal landscape and for reasons of conscience I feel that I must resign". - Ian Macdonald QC -
Top Lawyer Quits over 'Odious' Anti-Terror Laws
How goat-rustling claims led to pair's jailing
A Dorset farmer's suspicions about a group of Muslim men looking at his goats became part of former Home Secretary David Blunkett's case for using emergency powers to detain two asylum-seekers.
The farmer's fears that the men intended to steal the animals for ritual sacrifice were relayed to M15, where officers concluded that they were holding a clandestine meeting to elect a terrorist leader.
This became part of the case against two Algerians, known only as G and H, who were imprisoned without trial under emergency anti-terrorism powers rushed through Parliament after 11 September.
But now court papers seen by The Independent show that this intelligence had been rubbished by the tribunal that reviews the grounds for detaining foreign terror suspects.
The Special Immigration Appeal Commission accepted that the police report may have only shown that the men were enjoying a male-bonding holiday.
The judges concluded: "It is most unfortunate that a combination of a poor police report and a failure to look properly into the available information led to a mistaken attempt to paint a picture of a gathering to elect an emir or leader of a group."
Since his arrest three years ago, G, disabled with polio since childhood, has suffered severe mental illness. After hearing medical evidence, the judges agreed to allow him to live at his home address.
H, 32, came to this country in in 1993. He has been arrested and released without charge on four occasions.
Belmarsh: Lawyers withdrew from hearings
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The case against the foreign terror suspects imprisoned in Britain without trial for three years is partly founded on flawed and inaccurate intelligence, court papers reveal.
Alarming weaknesses in the secret services' evidence cast serious doubt on the Home Secretary's justification for detaining 12 men held under emergency legislation rushed through Parliament in the aftermath of 11 September.
Last month a historic judgment in the House of Lords triggered a constitutional crisis when the judges ruled that the men's detention was in breach of human rights law.
The documents reveal:
A security service assessment was embarrassingly withdrawn after it emerged that the purpose behind a visit to Dorset by a group of Muslim men had not been to elect a terrorist leader but to get away from their wives for the weekend.
Confirmation that the Government is using evidence of association with the Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg to hold at least two of the foreign terror suspects under its emergency powers.
False allegations made against one of the Algerian detainees in relation to his association with Mr Begg arose from an MI5 surveillance operation of Mr Begg's Islamic bookshop in Birmingham in 2000. MI5 wrongly claimed that weapons had been found there.
The Home Secretary has been forced to concede that some of the funds raised by the detainee Abu Rideh for alleged terrorist activity were sent to orphanages in Afghanistan run by a Canadian priest.
Testimony against two of the detainees came from an affidavit sworn by a man who was offered a lenient sentence in return for evidence.
Newspaper reports, including ones in The Guardian and La Stampa, were used by the Home Secretary to support allegations of terrorism against at least two of the detainees.
Two of the detainees were awarded compensation for false arrest shortly before they were detained under the anti-terrorist emergency powers.
MI5 reports, as part of the evidence against the detainees, describe the men as being "excessively security conscious" when travelling to and from London shopping centres.
The detention certificate of F, one of the Algerian detainees, was revoked after it emerged he should have been deported to France rather than imprisoned without trial.
One of the detainee's children has been taken into care.
- source
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what systems of detection and
border control
are being relied on in the war on terror?
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Not paying bribes can brand you Bin Laden in Pakistan:
[World News]: Karachi, Feb.2 : Failure to pay a bribe to Immigrationn officials in Pakistan may lead to you being branded as an Al- Qaeda terrorist and handed over to the American FBI.
According to Onlinenews, this is exactly what happened to a Pakistan born Canadian citizen, who was handed over to the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by the Pakistani Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) and Immigration authorities on false charges of suspected links with the Al-Qaeda after refusing to pay them 5,000 dollars as a bribe.
The paper quoted Malik Muhammad Azam as saying that he was tortured for three days and then deported after refusing to fulfill the FIA personnel's demand.
" I was later boarded on a PIA flight to be deported. Another FIA personal contacted me saying that it is time to give them bribery otherwise I was going to be handed over to USA on the suspicion of having links with Al-Qaeda, " Azam was quoted as saying.
After deportation, Azam was picked by FBI officials from the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, who took him into a room and interrogated him for five hours following which he was deported to Canada.
Canadian immigration officials then took him into custody at the Toronto Peterson airport, where he was debriefed for one hour, before being set free. (ANI) - source
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| The Case of 'C'
An Egyptian terror suspect known only as "C" has been freed after being interned under anti-terror legislation for more than three years, it emerged today.
C, who had been granted refugee status in 2000, was arrested in December 2001, just after the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act, which sanctioned detention without charge or trial, gained royal assent. He had been sentenced in absentia to 15 years imprisonment in Egypt for trying to recruit army officers to a terrorist group.
In October 2003 the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) - the independent panel which hears appeals from foreign terror suspects detained under the emergency laws - concluded the government had "reasonable grounds" to suspect that C had a "senior leadership role in the Egyptian Islamic Jihad in the United Kingdom".
Siac chairman Mr Justice Ouseley said: "He would still have the will, commitment and ability to resume his activities in the UK were he to be released."
C had been due to apply again for his release at a Siac review hearing later this week. It is understood, however, that he was released from Woodhill prison yesterday evening, without any conditions, after the government withdrew a certificate issued against him under the 2001 act.
In a statement to MPs this afternoon the home secretary, Charles Clarke, said: "Assurances have been given to the House of Commons that cases are kept under constant review and as part of this process, I concluded, on the basis of all the information available to me, that the weight of evidence in relation to C at the current time does not justify the continuance of the certificate. I therefore decided to revoke the certificate with immediate effect."
C's solicitor, Natalia Garcia, said the decision had come as a complete surprise. She said Mr Clarke had even submitted a statement to court for the review hearing saying that C was still a risk and that he should remain in detention.
"It came completely out of the blue," she told BBC Radio 4's The World at One programme. "We were in court [yesterday] morning where we heard the solicitor of the home secretary say that the only conditions of release he would accept would be house arrest and then by late afternoon I got a phone call to say that my client was about to be released with no conditions at all.
"By seven o'clock in the evening he was a completely free man.
more fron the Guardian
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Farid Hilali extradition based on Voice analysis
Mark @ Spyblog notes:
Farid Hilali, the Moroccan facing the first European Arrest warrant extradition in the UK to Spain, has today lost his extradition hearing at Bow Street Magistrates Court, according to the Press Association report in The Scotsman.
District Judge Timothy Workman (who also heard the new "rapid" extradition to the USA hearings involving Babar Ahmad)
"added that Hilali had the right to appeal to High Court against his decision within seven days."
Farid Hilali is accused of somehow being part of Al-Quaeda in Spain, before the September 11th 2001 attacks, and was not involved in the Madrid railway bombings (he was being held in Belmarsh at the time).
It would appear that yet again, the UK extradition court did not ask any questions about the alleged eveidence against Farid Hilali, only the points of extradition lae about possible torture or the lack of a fair trial.
According to the flimsy reports abouut this case, there have to be some doubts that the Spanish authorities have identified the right man, soley on the basis of an alleged electronic "voice analysis" of a mobile phone conversation. How they obtained suitable voice samples from a prisoner being held in Belmarsh high security prison is unclear.
If Farid Hilali was a member or associate of AL-Quaeda, he was ahrdly a linchpin of the organisation, and we do not support any extremist views he may have. However, the legal precedent that this case sets is a chilling one, it cannot be justice, if people can be arbitarily arrested and extradirted to face serious charges in another European Union country , simply on some alleged "voice analysis", by a secret police agency (Unidad Central de Informacion Exterior - UCIE) of a foreign state (Spain) of a mobile phone conversation, which in itself contained no overt threats, and which it has not been established was to or from a mobile phone actually in the suspects's possession. All of this relates to an alleged terrorist plot in a third country, the USA, which has not brought any evidence or even accusations against Fatrid Hilali with respect to the September 11th 2001 attacks.
- Mark @ Spyblog
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Verint inks security deal with US government agency
Jul. 24 2003 - Comverse subsidiary Verint Systems, which provides digital video security and surveillance solutions, has announced that it received a multi-million dollar order from a new government agency customer in the United States. Verint said the order was for its Reliant communications interception solution, which is designed to enable government agencies to intercept and analyze voice and data communications for a variety of investigative purposes, including gathering intelligence and establishing evidence for the conviction of criminals.
"We are delighted to be working with this new government agency customer," said Dan Bodner, president and CEO of Verint Systems Inc. "We have significant experience working with government and law enforcement agencies worldwide, and are committed to developing advanced voice and data communications interception solutions." - source
[Verint is the new name for Comverse Infosys, one of the companies implicated in the Israeli/Neocon spy scandal. ]
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Al Queda tapes artificial?
Could the bin Laden tape have been created using concatenated text-to-speech synthesis (TTS) or voice conversion technology? Voice conversion transforms the voice of one person into someone else's voice. For example, it would make Judith Markowitz' voice sound like the voice of Humphrey Bogart. Today, conversions produced by such systems may be recognizable as the target-speaker's voice but they often sound stilted and unnatural. "They sound artificial" says Dr. Carline Henton, president of Talknowledgy (see 'The State of TTS,' this issue). "The problem is that many so-called voice conversion systems are based on the same limited rules as parametric TTS systems such as DECTalk use."
Bin Laden would get better results using commercial concatenative TTS. In order to generate flexible, natural-sounding TTS, though, he's have to spend a minimum of ten hours in a professional recording studio providing high-quality samples of his speech. The recorded material would be segmented into labeled units and stored in a large database. It might be possible to use existing tapes of bin Laden's voice for this purpose but they would lack necessary acoustic variants. They also wouldn't have sufficient consistency in quality, volume, and the other factors necessary to produce units that, when concatenated, sound as if they were spoken naturally and at the same time. According to Henton mismatches of this sort could be covered up. "You could hide any acoustic artifacts of the concatenation process by having a sufficiently noisy-enough channel, which is typical of Bin Laden's speeches." - Bin Laden Speaking
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Experts are ALWAYS right shocker!!!
Even with all the current digital wizardry, faking the videotape in which Osama bin Laden appears to take credit for the Sept. 11 attacks would be extremely difficult, experts said.
The biggest hurdle would be mimicking the cadence and rhythm of human speech. Synchronizing a doctored soundtrack with existing video would also be tough, and technology that can synthesize Arabic speech is still in its infancy.
Chi-Lin Shih, a language modeling scientist at Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs, described the process as akin to reassembling a broken vase by gluing together its shards. Close scrutiny would likely reveal the cracks. - Experts: Faking Tape Tough To Do
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