Slashdot Mirror
Inside Al-Qaeda's Hard Drive
prostoalex writes "Alan Cullison covered the events in Afghanistan for Wall Street Journal in late 2001. On the day that Kabul fell Cullison was offered to buy a bunch of computers from a local al-Qaeda office. For $1100 Cullison purchased an IBM desktop and a Compaq laptop. Before giving the hard drives to CIA agents in Afghanistan, Cullison copied the contents and shares some of the electronic messages in September's Atlantic Monthly. Interesting insight on al-Qaeda's financial operations and their merger with Taliban movement. The letters include e-mail messages from Osama bin Laden himself."
Was the large collection of J-Lo pictures. Osama loves da booty.
"All your base are belong to us"
Forget the underware thing, just make sure you erase the bloody hard drive before selling your laptop off...
/* FUCK - The F-word is here so that you can grep for it */
Anything that would have been useful to CIA before wouldn't be know that all this has been made public - any financial information would be useless, since with this online, they would have taken the money out. Intel is really only useful if not everyone knows it.
How does he know this wasn't a plant? They've could placed fake plans/email/etc knowing this person would turn it over to authorities and thus throw them off the trail. To make things look even more real, you could lightly erase the data and let the CIA recover it.
LMAO!!!11 I iz da best at t3rr0r !!11
-- Hax0r B1n L4den.
How hard do authorities actually go to get data off of hard drives? Could they really find/prove anything if the drive was zeroed, redhat installed, and the touch command used to change the date on all the files? Would they actually look at the disk bit for bit using an electron microscope? Would they check areas of the disk that the disk controller has assigned elsewhere?
Reading some of the letters, I kinda feel that the tone and language used seems very similar to those nigerian scam e-mails.
That's either incredibly crazy, or scary, or both.
Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.
The funny thing is the notes on the computer indicate they never even thought of using chemical weapons because they thought it would be too complicated. It wasn't until the American government began making public statements about how easy it would be for certain rouge nations to make simple but deadly chemical weapons, like mustard gas, they they started working on these projects!
So we drew their attention to the fact that bio and chem weapons can be produced simply with easily available materials.
If that is correct that wmds are that easy to build, we should acknowledge that and adapt to the threat.
Simply put, if we did keep quiet the terrorists would eventually figure it out anyways. Security through obscurity doesnt work. open source anti terrorism.
From: Osama Bin Laden
Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 12:53 PM
Subject: TRANSFER
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am fine today and how are you? I hope this letter will find you in the best of health. I am Osama Bin Laden, the Chairman of the "Down with the West Committee", of "Al Qaeda (AQ)", a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian sanctioned Groups (SASG).
Al Qaeda (AQ) was set up by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha who died on 18th June 1998, to manage the excess revenue accruing from the sales of Opium and its allied products as a domestic increase in the piate products to develop the communities in the Afghani poppy producing areas. The estimated annual revenue for 1999 was $45 Billion US Dollars Ref. FMF A26 Unit 3B Paragraph "D" of the Auditor General of the Muslim Republic of Afghanistan Report of Nov. 1999 on estimated revenue.
I am the Chairman of the Contract Award Committee, and my committee is solely responsible for awaiting and paying of contracts on behalf of the Talibani Government. My Committee Awarded Contracts to foreign contractors for Irrigation and Ecological Matters in the poppy producing areas of Afghanistan. We overshot the contract sum by US$25,000,000.00. We have paid the contractors and withholding the balance of US$25,000, 000.00. But, because of the existence of some of the domestic laws forbidding civil servants in Afghanistan from opening, operating and maintaining foreign accounts, we do not have the expertise to transfer this balance of fund to a foreign account.
However, this balance of US$25,000, 000.00 has been secured in form of Credit/Payment to a foreign contractor, hence we wish to transfer into your bank account as the beneficiary of the fund. We have also arrived at a conclusion that you will be given 20% of the total sum transferred as our foreign partner, while 5% will be reserved for incidental expenses that both parties will incur in the course of actualizing this transaction, and the balance of 75% will be kept for the committee members.
If you know that you will be capable of helping us actualize this transaction, you should send to me immediately the details of your bank particulars or open a new bank account where we can transfer the money US$25,000, 000.00, which you will be holding in trust for us until we come to your country for our share. Your nature of business does not matter in this transaction. The required details includes your company's name, address, your private personal telephone/fax numbers, your full name and address, including your complete bank details where the transferred fund will be routed by the Apex Bank.
Note that this transaction is expected to be actualized within 21 working days from the day the required details are forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Finance who will approve the needed foreign exchange control allocation for the release of this money to your account. Please, treat this as top secret. You should contact me urgently.
Thanks for your cooperation.
Yours faithfully,
Osama Bin Laden.
Human being (n.): A genetically human, genetically distinct, functioning organism.
To: The American People
From: Osama bin Laden
Folder: Publications
Date: October 3, 2001
So what exatly is the email address for "The American People?" I mean, if the found email had that as the address book name, what was the address listed?
Seriously, I think this could very well be a well executed plant. Be assured that the Office of Special Plans is still hard at work.
Guru Meditation #6d416769.21610a21
but do the terrorists eat hot grits in those training camps?
There is always tracking irregularity to ensure that the traces of previous write cycles aren't completely lost. Reading a hard drive while subtracting the top level bit pattern from the signal will allow the previous signal to be retrieved, and this process can go several levels deep. An electron microscope is unnecessary and won't work (you are thinking of the visible bits on CDs, I guess.) This is why, if you really want to erase a hard drive, the best approach is to take the disks out and heat them to destruction or whack them with a mallet. You can overwrite many times with an alternating bit pattern, of course, but physical destruction is the fastest and surest way.
Panurge has posted for the last time. Thanks for the positive moderations.
hELLO,
This may come as a surprise to you, since we have never done business before. I am the son of a wealthy Saudi family who due to an invading army, need help accessing OVER 40 BILLION DOLLARS US.
For your kind assistance in helping me recover my families money, I am wiling to off4er you %10 of the total funds. Doens' t that sound nice? PleaSe respond as soon as possable with a phone number and a email address that we can correspond with to get you your money. To begin this process, I will only require a sum of $4000 to release my funds from the Government of Afganistan.
Best wishes!
Osama bin Laden Mobutu
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. -Frederick Douglass
I would have thought that they, being so organised and all, would have used really strong encryption on their computers. Also, would they not see any conflict of interests in using US company computers and US software?
If that is the case, what about this old tidbit:
It's false. What about it?
Fred
"A fool and his freedom are soon parted"
-RMS
Has Al-Qaeda standardized IT?
/. whiz recommend? Consider constant transport/setup & sand
;-)
Standard issue desktops (IBM?)and laptops (Compaq... explains a lot)?
What would a
Thanks,
Al
Some of this gives me the creeps knowing that I was living in Ottawa at the time. This underscores why the US embassy there resembles a fortress. Unfortunately, if they had decided to strike there, it would probably be the only thing left standing in a 2 block radius. Maybe the Israelis would be interesting in moving into the Diefenbunker. (The WW3 nuclear bomb shelter built just out of town by a former PM, since abanoned by the canadian gov't and turned into a museum)
...
- - - - - - -
To: Real name unknown
From: Unknown
Folder: Hamza
Date: August 23, 2001
Special file for our brother Abu Bakr al-Albani ["the Albanian"] on the nature of his mission.
First, the mission: Gather information on:
1. Information on American soldiers who frequent nightclubs in the America-Canada border areas
2. The Israeli embassy, consulate, and cultural center in Canada
3. If it is possible to enter America and gather information on American soldier checkpoints, or on the American army in the border areas inside America
4. Information on the possibility of obtaining explosive devices inside Canada
I have given to our brother $1,500 for travel expenses in Canada and America, and also the cost of the ticket for the trip back to us after four months, God willing.
My rights don't need management.
For instance, take this extract from a letter written by Ramzi bin al-Shibh (written after the Afghan invasion, but before the Iraqi invasion):
Because of Saddam and the Baath Party, America punished a whole population. Thus its bombs and its embargo killed millions of Iraqi Muslims. And because of Osama bin Laden, America surrounded Afghans and bombed them, causing the death of tens of thousands of Muslims ... God said to assault whoever assaults you, in a like manner ... In killing Americans who are ordinarily off limits, Muslims should not exceed four million non-combatants, or render more than ten million of them homeless. We should avoid this, to make sure the penalty [that we are inflicting] is no more than reciprocal. God knows what is best.
And then there is this, written by Bin Laden himself:
Our current battle is against the Jews. Our faith tells us we shall defeat them, God willing. However, Muslims find that the Americans stand as a protective shield and strong supporter, both financially and morally. The desert storm that blew over New York and Washington should, in our view, have blown over Tel Aviv. The American position obliged Muslims to force the Americans out of the arena first to enable them to focus on their Jewish enemy. Why are the Americans fighting a battle on behalf of the Jews? Why do they sacrifice their sons and interests for them?
Now, of course there is no denying that the mindset behind all this is evil. But it is rational in its twisted way. There are specific and clear reasons for why these people commit acts of terrorism. By absolutely refusing to face these reasons, America and its allies risks alienating every single militant Muslim in the world, little by little. Why are the real reasons behind terrorism so rarely discussed?
I hear there's rumors on the Slashdots
Does Bin Laden and the gang use Windows or Linux?
The government which is strong enough to protect you from everything is strong enough to take everything from you.
>> giving the hard drives to CIA agents in Afghanistan
Yeah, but what happened to the Post-It Notes stuck around the monitors? I'll bet that's where all the *really* interesting information is!
Sweet, I can't wait to vote for Kerry! I can't think of two things that will help this country more. This is not sarcasm, I'm completely serious. The military gets way too much of our money (hundreds of billions) imagine if just a fraction of that went to the schools. Also consider how nice it would be to have universal health care just by raising the taxes.
Win a signed Stephen Carpenter ESP Guitar from the Deftones: http://def-tag.com/?r=0008781
I think im going to pass out because the stench of bull shit has just reached epic proportions. The question is, where did it start? did al-qaeda write it as a plant or did the cullison write it because he was bored on the plane home? or did someone think, "hmm how can i sell all these old PCs, i know, ill stick some crap on them and say they were al-qaedas!" the only other explanation is that its true and al-qaeda suffer just as much from IBM death stars (didn't know the 40GB model was around in '98 but hey) and random windows corruption as much as you or me! And also they have a james bond-esque style of keeping all their secrets ready for discovery.
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
Probably Windows to run FlightSim.
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Terrorists kill 4000 in order to launch a war that they can feed off. If Western civil society had simply condemned the act, given the Taliban 30 days to deliver the criminals and been very careful to not kill a single innocent civilian, Al Quaeda would have been ostracised by their own support base. By launching two wars against "terror", Western civil society has guaranteed Al Quaeda a place in history and guaranteed a generation or two of on-going fighting that will cause the deaths of many, many more people.
/me expects to be burnt for saying this but it must be said.
I think every country faced with local terrorists has learnt through bitter experience that force does not solve this kind of problem. Dialogue and negotiation are always, finally, the only way to end the cycle of violence.
This lesson has been learnt by the British in Northern Ireland, by the Spanish in the Basque Country, by the French in Sardinia, the Sri Lankans... it does not matter how "evil" the men with guns are. Nothing short of genocide - and even that is not certain - will stop more embittered and manipulated youths growing up to fill the gaps left by arrest, detention, assassination.
Sig for sale or rent. One previous user. Inquire within.
While there may be some truth the the story of how Cullison acquired these computers, I highly doubt the CIA would simply let him publish the information the HDs contained.
They have special rooms in Cuba for people who disseminate this kind of material.
Which means that the stuff published was vetted (and probably carefully rewritten) by the CIA. To what end, I don't know. But rest assured, there is nothing in the article that you (or the bad guys) are not meant to see.
It's an actual 419 e-mail, a.k.a. "The Tale of The Painted Breast".
-- "I'm not a religious man, but if you're up there, save me Superman..."
After reading this article, it looks like Osama and his gang want GWBush to get re-elected. I mean, they're obviously his best election tactic. It looks like 100% of terrorists agree, anyone as long as it's Bush!
Bush couldn't ask for better re-election propaganda even if he had planted it himself. *cough*
The UN imposes all sorts of penalties on all those who contradict its religion. It issues documents and statements that openly contradict Islamic belief, such as the International Declaration for Human Rights, considering all religions are equal, and considering that the destruction of the statues constitutes a crime ...
It's interesting that I had a lively debate during lunch a few days back with a colleague about religions and what they mean in the modern world. Mind you, a healthy unbiased debate, not an argument.
I happened to mention that I think that all religions are equal, atleast at a higher level (as in if you ignore the minor details like forms of worship, etc) and that I think that they were created with a common goal of imposing "morality" and the "good" way of life back when law and order were difficult to maintain. The fear of God was a common deterrant to "bad" or "immoral" behavior.
I agree that many people find this view in contrast to the traditional beliefs of religions being God's word, but I just put forth the point since this was a debate, and I wanted to hear his opinion on it.
What I found troubling was that his *main* disagreement with what I said was the former part - the part about "all religions being equal" in the long run or from a high level. He (being a fundamentalist Christian) was totally revolted by the idea that I would say that the belief that "God is One" is the same as believing in the "Trinity". I tried explaining that those are exactly the sort of differences that people look at (in addition to form of worship etc) to argue against the inferiority of other religions, when it doesn't really matter, since all of them teach us to pray and have faith, and behave in a "good" way.
Well, I didn't get through, and the next day, he presented me a book (which I found quite outrageous) published by a campus Church group explaining why "religions are different" and how "they'll all find salvation at the feet of Christ". How can you hope to write a so called unbiased book, if your conclusion is that they'll be "Saved" only if they follow Christianity?.
Anyway, the point which I had wanted to make is that there are a *surprisingly* large number of people who refuse to believe that the best service to their religion that they can probably do is to increase tolerance towards other religions rather than denounce them and try to proselytize the masses under the guise of "saving them". I've personally seen Christian, as well as Muslim missionaries and other entities offer food/clothing and money to poorer people in Africa etc so as to convert them to their religions, *all* the while preaching that they won't be saved otherwise.
So ANY religious fundamentalism is bad, not JUST Islamic fundamentalism or Christian fundamentalism, or fundamentalism under the guise of any other religion. Hey, if you want to believe strongly in something, you're free to do so, but don't try to change my thinking or impose it upon me.
Sorry for the rant.
...isn't a good idea. Even in this "special" case.
Liar, you're not a Muslim. Why?
1) Allah is spelled with two l's.
2) Jihad was never against "western society"; against who? I will let you answer.
P.S. Yes, I am a muslim and a firm believer in God, alwahidul ahad.
one of the arguments that i've read (online, can't give you a source because it was a while ago,) against linux/OSS is that it gives "Bad People" access to very good encryption and communication software, which in turn gives the US intelligence community a headache when trying to decypher it. I would be surprised if they weren't using something like PGP/GPG, but it's more likely that they're running it on a Windows platform.
FreeBSD for the impatient.
Depends. Whom would you ask? Darl McBride?
FROM: Ali '1st Thief" Baba
TO : Osama 'Yo Mama' bin Laden
Subject: Training
Oh! Supreme one! We are in the midst of training our latest round of recruits to service in the holy Jihad against the Infidels! We are proud to announce that shortly we shall have the capacity to completely undermine the ability of the Infidel Armies to wage war effectively:
1) It has come to our attention that many of the Infidels train for war electronically, using common-off-the-shelf games that we can obtain in various Indonesian markets for less than $1 per computer. These games are extremely popular within the Infidel youth community. "Operation Wall-Hack" is my proposal to train our operatives to use techniques frowned up by their youth community, although they are the same to create these tools, to produce a formidable, unbeatable force of Counter Strike experts. God willing, we will demoralize the youth of the Infidels, and they shall throw themselves in front of their parent's Four Wheeled Drive vehicles. Praise Allah!
2) Our operatives have discovered that Email is the #1 method of communication within the Infidel community. Our operatives have discovered on a secret, underground website called "Slashdot" that "Spam" is a growing problem that cripples the Infidel's ability to successfully utilize this medium. Through divine inspiration from Allah, I have come up with "Operation SPAM", where we will open up full time spam mailing facilities in the countries that still welcome us and we will flood the mail servers of the world with useless junk! Infidel Economies will grind to a standstill! Office workers will gnash their teeth, System Administrators will pull their hair from the roots and staple their eyes shut from the flood of junk email! I propose that we invest $499 for a server from the Infidel company Dell to begin investigating this immediately.
3. The Infidels have concocted a curious form of support for their technology. They utilize large numbers of people to man telephone stations that attempt to answer technical questions that customers of these technology companies may have in the repair, maintainence, and usage of their machines. I propose "Operation OutSource" to your holiness, to aid in our fight against the Infidels! We shall open up telephone support centers in our friendly nations and underbid the Indians to gain the business of giant Infidel corporations and provide substandard support to the Infidel industry! The Infidel productivity levels will grind to nothing! And they will PAY us for the privilege! If you are concerned that our lack of technology infrastructure and education will prevent us from providing adequate levels of support for these companies, do not fear. The current support providers don't know anything about computers, either! The hapless users will throw themselves off of their Infidel skyscrapers in madness, Allah Willing! Praise Allah!
4) We have learned a new codespeak for our communications. It is called "L33t Sp34k" and is considered to be one of the strongest encryption codes ever produced when combined with GNUPG (I am sorry to hear of your confusion regarding this product, did you read the man pages?). I highly recommend that we teach this method to all of our agents in the field.
As you can see, your Supremacy, we have the potential to completely revolutionize the way "The War" is fought. Allah willing, we shall overcome the Infidels and regain control of Palestine! Praise Allah!
-Ali Baba
If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
Bin Ladin is succeeding in his propaganda war, in large part due to the actions of Bush. Their main aim is to draw the Islamic world and the West into a clash of civilisations. Invading Afghanistan was seen as reasonable by most of the Islamic world - thousands of innocent Americans had just died, there was enormous sympathy and the direct perpetrators were in Afghanistan - that and Afghanistan has no real special religious significance for Muslims, unlike Saudi Arabia or Iraq (The Shrine of Iman Ali, Najaf in general, Baghdad, former capital of the Islamic Caliphate).
By invading Iraq, Bush has done more to forward Osama bin Ladin's propaganda than any other action he could have taken. Osama bin Ladin said, that the US will invade your country, the US will take your oil, the US is ruled by Jews and is acting to protect Israel, the US talk about "freedom" but they will crush you under their boots, they will rape your women and torture your men, they will desecrate your holy shrines. So Bush goes and invades one of the most holy Islamic nations which is oil rich, guards the oil ministry while the rest of Baghdad descends into chaos, the neo-cons are well known to be behind the invasion and the original neo-cons were Jews (not the ones now - but they still have very strong ties with Israel's Likud party and Sharon), then there was the torture scandal with reports of rape and torture by American forces, they attack the shrine of Iman Ali and the one of the Sayyids (al Sadr) ie. descendants of The Prophet, which is something only Saddam Hussein and most importantly the caliph Yazid (the worse villain in Shi'ite history) did. Even better, before Iraq only Sunnis formed the Islamic terrorist groups directly attacking the US. Most of the Shi'ite population are as wary of bin Ladin as the US as he considers them heretics. Now by doing a Yazid and attacking the shrine of Iman Ali, all the Shi'ites in the world hate the US as well. For example recently, an elder in one of the Shi'ite strongholds in India warned Americans not to enter the area as he could not guarantee their safety. In Iraq we are seeing Sunni hardliners and Shi'ite hardliners unite for the first time since the war of independence against the British.
Honestly could Bush do anything more to *help* bin Ladin win his propaganda war? Oh, and also because all man-power has been diverted to Iraq, the hunt for bin Ladin has effectively been outsourced to Pakistan (divided loyalties, military dictatorship and all) and the N. Korean threat is being ignored as troops (and White House attention) is rushed from Korea to Iraq.
Personally I think history will see Bush's invasion of Iraq in the same way we currently see the actions taken immediately preceding WWI where a heinous (but not disastrous event like an invasion) led a huge superpower to try to crush a country related to but not directly involved in the event for pre-existing reasons not related to the heinous event in question which led to other countries intervening in a complex system of alliances and ethnic loyalties that cascaded out of control into a war to end all wars. Except this time, a war to end all wars is what bin Ladin actually wants.
That second excerpt there seems almost exactly like the descriptions Bush gives of the terrorists. They're crazed religious nutjobs with an irrational hatred of Jews and anyone who associates with or befriends Jews. Sure, it's a specific and clear reason, but it's still wacko bullshit.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Yeah, that'd be cool. Getting SCO to sue al-Qaeda for copyright infringement.
:-)
The enemy of my enemy turns out to be another of my enemies.
In other news: The SCO Group (SCOX) field suit against Al Qadea for their use of unlicensed SCO code in their modified Linux Distro Qaedux.
Imagine Darl McBride whining in Washington DC to get Patriots to protect his HQ against "those evil Linux/Qaedux using terrorists."
cpghost at Cordula's Web.
"This was the man who that December would take $1,100 from me in exchange for two of al-Qaeda's most valuable computers--a 40-gigabyte IBM desktop and a Compaq laptop. He had stolen them from al-Qaeda's central office in Kabul on November 12, the night before the city fell to the Northern Alliance. He wanted the money, he said, so that he could travel to the United States and meet some American girls." :D
The dude has his priorities straight, that's for sure.
Just one word! ----- Microwave ----- Place it in there, turn it on, wait a minute, and watch out! ( "cause it can damage the micorwave oven )
The lesson on what type of undergarments to wear probably applies to most readers here too...
'Thats they exact same thing a banana wrench monkey.'
The caste system that results from it is pretty damned horrible though. Having to manually unclog sewers because of who your parents were puts having to ride in the back of the bus in the shade. Judging from the low and high caste members blazing away at each other in India, I'd say the whole thing went too far a long time ago. It's also interesting to note that India doesn't want caste discrimination lumped in with sexism, racism, and homophobia in human rights matters.
...in Afghanistan..." Don't worry. It was just an interdepartmental transfer.
> Rather than invade Iraq, our resources would have been wisley spent finding a solution the real problem. About 300 miles to the west of Iraq. The terrorist threat will never cease until the middle east problem is resolved fairly to everyone involved.
I definitely agree that that should happen and that it will resolve a large part of the terrorist problem there, but settling that problem will not stop people like Osama. He has religious motives, and has no problemm attacking other muslims who don't follow his exact interpretation of Islam either. It would help a lot in removing the conditions that allow him to recruit deperate people tho.
At any rate, his claims regarding 'the fight against the jews' are quite likely more political then anything else. It helps with gaining support in that area and since desperation is extremely common among young pallestinians, it makes for easy recruitment. Israelhas been helping with that for quite a bit by trying to reduce the strength of Hamas (but well.. that is a choice between 2 evils for them)
I thought it looked like "OBL" may be throwing his hat into the ring for the GOP nomination, what with the chatter aout god willing and the superiority of his religion... That's out of GWB's playbook! Yup I take this with a large grain of salt
Hey! The article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, does not mention that all religions are the same - people have a right to a religion, and that's it.
about "Danni's Hard Drive", the porno site where the chick is always on the Howard Stern show?
I had this image of naked Afghanis in veils...
Who did what now?
Not sure if 40GB's were around in '98. If they were, they would certainly be hard to find in Afghanistan. The thing is, just because there were emails on the computer that were written in '98, that doesn't mean the hard drive is that old. If you read the article, you'd know that the IT guy kept everything organized quite well (until his arrest) and probably was able to figure out how to export old emails. The info was likely transferred from an older computer. Still, a 40GB hard drive in 2001 does seem out of place. Computers were apparently VERY hard to come by in Afghanistan at the time.
I guess since their land is a "most holy Islamic nation" we ought to give them a pass then.
Bin laden saying that "the US will invade your country, the US will take your oil, the US is ruled by Jews and is acting to protect Israel" is no more prophetic or surprising than if he were to say, "The US will bring planes and tanks and guns"!
Personally I think the war we waged has been too considerate. The 1500 that are currently holed up in the "holy" shrine in Iraq now sounds like a good place to drop a few 2500 pound bombs and level the dump.
But of course that would only be appropriate if it were a christian church.
Karma means nothing to me, so suck it...
specially sensitive messages were encoded with a simple but reliable cryptographic system that had been used by both Allied and Axis powers during World War II--a "one-time pad" system that paired individual letters with randomly assigned numbers and letters and produced messages readable only by those who knew the pairings.
One time pads are the most difficult to crack ciphers in existance. It is theoretically impossible to crack them unless: a) the pad wasn't destroyed after decoding the message or b) the algorithm to create the pad is predictable. The author doesn't say anything about these 2 situations, so how does he know how sensitive the files were? Did they leave the decoded files on the computer anyway?
What I don't understand is that if some of the data is E-Mails from OSAMA BIN LADEN himself, how the HELL did the several security agencies that we have here in the U.S. not pick up the e-mail in transit? Don't we monitor these things or is that super computer in fort meade just used to play solitaire? I mean seriously, i'd say that ANY e-mail with the word "osama" in it should probably be picked up by big brother. The NSA and CIA are apparently now taking away from our freedom in exchange for security, yet they have failed to deliver on the security.
--Schvoo, gEEkD
The one very interesting thing I found about the emails was how out of touch with North American culture these people really are.
For example, they wish to,
Gather information on:
1. Information on American soldiers who frequent nightclubs in the America-Canada border areas
There really aren't that many military bases near the American-Canadian border. There's been no need for the last century.
3. If it is possible to enter America and gather information on American soldier checkpoints, or on the American army in the border areas inside America
The is an interesting look into their mentality about borders--that they are all defended by military checkpoints. Obviously they've had no experience crossing an free border like that between Canada and the States. The entire concept of travel without military interference is completely foriegn to them and this speaks volumes about their mindsets and misconceptions of western culture.
Yes. Further to this, the invasion of Iraq sent a strong message to other countries in the US's dog house...
Since most thought they Iraq did not have substantial stockpiles of WMD before the war (despite the claims of Bush et al) and the US attacked with a pretty good understanding that they wouldn't be requiring their chemical suits.
Alternatively, an attack against N-Korea is off the table because of their WMD programs and delivery systems, plus significant traditional weaponry which the US would have difficulty taking out before Seoul is razed.
So what is a country in the US's dog house to do now? Their rational choice is to build weapons and WMD ASAP to deter a possible US attack. Syria and Iran likely have a new urgency to their WMD programs now, but other countries are likely ramping up their programs too.
The pre-emptive war policy will have perverse results.
-b
btw, mod parent up please! = )
[another name for al-Zawahiri]
... I disagree completely with the issue of sales and profits. These are not profits. They are rather a farce of compound losses. I believe that going on in this is a dead end, as if we were fighting ghosts or windmills. Enough of pouring musk on barren land.
"True. But we've had an army looking for them since 2001."
They should hire bill collectors to hunt down al Qaeda leadership. Those bastards can find you anywhere.
Don't know about where you live, but around here, public schools get about 56% of our municipal budget, while the military gets 0%. Public schools also receive funding from the state, and again, the military does not. But, we've been pouring money into public schools for a century. There doesn't appear to be any strong link between funding and student performance, unless the funding amount is below the minimum operating budget. Let's stop saying that lack of funds is the problem, and start concentrating on the management of those funds.
Fred
"A fool and his freedom are soon parted"
-RMS
First off there are no secondary sources of this information. This means he can say whatever he wants was on the computers, nobody can argue because the CIA will not talk about it one way or another.
Also, he said that 9/11 was referenced but showed no big evidence of this, just some vague feeling he had, this is not proof. He also seems to accept that they did carry out the 9/11 attacks and thus has no real motive to try and prove anything, all he could accomplish is to disprove his belief.
From someone that has copied several drives, I how it works. I would like to ask how he managed to recover deleted e-mails if this was a copy of the original computer files? When you copy something, in general only files not marked with the 'deleted' or 'removed' tag are copied (To speed things up). So unless he used some kind of low level copying function and based on his technical know-how, I'm not sure that he did, it seems unlikely this could be done.
Remeber that. Kerry supported the war in Iraq. I don't see much difference between the GOP and those "liberals".
I think every country faced with local terrorists has learnt through bitter experience that force does not solve this kind of problem. Dialogue and negotiation are always, finally, the only way to end the cycle of violence.
Churchill thought the same of the Nazis. How well did that work out?
Appeasement is not the answer. Unfortunately, sometimes war is the answer.
You listed some examples that were supposed to prove your point, and yet in 2 out of the 4 (Ireland and Spain) there are still people being killed by the local terrorists.
It is worse in the case of Islamo-fascists, because their goal is the destruction of the infidels (that's us) and to convert the entire world to Islam. They must be destroyed.
Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
Did you READ the article? If real (and that's not a small if), it paints a picture of al-Q that is very unlike the one painted by the Bush administration. It presents the idea that actions such as Iraq II will SUPPORT, not hurt, the terrorist cause. This is an article that should generate anti-Bush sentiment, if anything.
Why is it that the sexually repressed people of the world flip out and start wars and start killing people? Seriously. When was the last time a place with very liberal ideas about sex started killing people? And the USA does not count with the current crop of uber-conservative anti-sex button pushers in charge. You'd think that most of the people in the world would have figured out that we need constant, high quality sex to maintain peace and stable economies. There go my nipples again.
Dear fellow terrorist,
MY NAME IS OSAMA bin LADIn. MY FATHER WAS AN OIL PRINCE in the Saudi Empire and managed to stash $30 Million US in a securities bank. I am writing to you because I need a foreign terrorist to helP me GET THE Money out of the country......
Unfortunately, our government is supposed to be enforcing the Constitution, which does stipulate funding the military, and does not stipulate funding national healthcare, public schools, welfare, unemployment, creating jobs, etc.
Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
"The blow against the United States was meant to put an end to the internal rivalries, which are manifest in vitriolic memos between Kabul and cells abroad. Al-Qaeda's leaders worried about a military response from the United States, but in such a response they spied opportunity: they had fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, and they fondly remembered that war as a galvanizing experience, an event that roused the indifferent of the Arab world to fight and win against a technologically superior Western infidel. The jihadis expected the United States, like the Soviet Union, to be a clumsy opponent. Afghanistan would again become a slowly filling graveyard for the imperial ambitions of a superpower."
"As Arab resentment against the United States spreads, al-Qaeda may look less like a tightly knit terror group and more like a mass movement. And as the group develops synergy in working with other groups branded by the United States as enemies (in Iraq, the Israeli-occupied territories, Kashmir, the Mindanao Peninsula, and Chechnya, to name a few places), one wonders if the United States is indeed playing the role written for it on the computer. "
That is a nerve-racking observation made and I hope there is someone in DC to combat this strategy. Afghanistan and Iraq haven't been graveyards to the extent of the casualties suffered by russia, but one wonders if that is to come? I surely hope not.
That the media of the West is basically brainstorming terror ideas for their foes is one of the first things I thought when faced with the fear-mongering media.
But I guess i better shut up now because everything I might say is detrimental.
I'm still trying to figure out what people mean by 'social skills' here.
Since most thought they Iraq did not have substantial stockpiles of WMD before the war (despite the claims of Bush et al)
Jesus Christ, where do you get this idea? EVERYONE thought Iraq had WMD. We knew they had it at one point, we knew they wanted to make more of it, we just never could find proof that they didn't, and Iraq decided to go to war instead of simply proving they had gotten rid of what they had. Why would they have done that? How can you prove their stockpiles weren't sent to Syria or Iran? If they had no stockpiles of WMD, where did those shells with chemical weapons inside come from (I suppose they just made one or two of those things right?)
the US attacked with a pretty good understanding that they wouldn't be requiring their chemical suits.
Bullshit. The forces first going into Iraq ALL had chemical suits, and were often called to put them on completely due to precautions taken. Did you zone out completely during the war coverage, or what? I read dozens of articles detailing the types of chemical/biological hazmat suits the soldiers had to wear in blazing heat. I believe their were 4 levels of readiness in these suits, and even level 1 was a pain in the ass to trudge through a desert in. They absolutely were worried about a chemical or biological attack.
Alternatively, an attack against N-Korea is off the table because of their WMD programs and delivery systems, plus significant traditional weaponry which the US would have difficulty taking out before Seoul is razed.
Sort of. You've got a madman with confirmed nukes but no reliable means of delivery, especially at distances. Basically, he could blow up his own people or S. Korea, and must be dealt with much more carefully than a non-nuclear Iraq.
So what is a country in the US's dog house to do now? Their rational choice is to build weapons and WMD ASAP to deter a possible US attack. Syria and Iran likely have a new urgency to their WMD programs now, but other countries are likely ramping up their programs too.
They can try, like Iran is going to try. But C. Rice has already come out to say that the US will not allow Iran to build nuclear weapons. I guarantee you that even if we don't drop bombs, the Israelis are not going to allow Iran to become nuclear. No fucking way.
Also, this idea of a country being in our "dog house" is absurd. You act like it is our fault these countries are oppressing their people and building WMDs to threaten surrounding countries!
BTW, one country "in our doghouse," Lybia, took a different path than the one you think is so rational, and gave up their WMD program.
Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
If someone wiped out your family because they disagreed with your post, would your reasoning be the same?
The real reasons behind terrorism are rarely discussed because they are complex. Terrorists are hardly ever crazed madmen, despite what Bush might insist upon. They are people with a grievance, but they choose to stand their ground in a way that many people find to be morally wrong. Suicide bombers don't want to kill themselves, rather they feel they have no alternative.
You are putting a urbane and diplomatic face on terrorism. Are they crazy? Yes and no, have a disturbed mental state. Absolutely. Have you ever met someone who was programed from birth to kill and wipe out people, with their highest goal being to kill as many as they can in a suicide attack? That at their 'age' of 7 or 8 they were angry they were not chosen to be put in the programs for martyr training. So they tried harder every day to get in, but was captured by the 'evil' Jews...who were not the cold murders that they were taught...but kind.
al-Qaeda terrorists are slightly different, in that most programing comes directly from fundamentalist teachings. It is still driven in most cases from childhood, from a young age. From the imams, from their 'teachers'. But those who do so, bind themselves tightly to them and the direct and core beliefs that to be a martyr is a holy thing.
Their grievance's are simple: If you are not one of us, you die. Convert or die. Not pure enough die. I can really list more examples.
It's very nasty world we live in. It's time for people to realize that in the last 2000 years, that this has been going on in one form in another. Either highscale war, or low scale war.
I expect to be labeled either a wingnut, a fundamentalist, or a rightwing wacko. I really don't care what you label me. Perhaps you could just say I have a 'grievance'. That is I don't like the idea of being killed by extreamist Moslems of any flavor. On that point, I should add...that 50% of them support individuals like al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hizbullah, etc. What does it tell you? I would say study some history on the subject, but I know most people simply disregard me when I say that.
I don't really care what people think or believe anymore, people will say Osama hoped to start a 'religious' war between the West and East. If religious means our life(including the freedom from religion) vs. their version of religion then so be it. Once more I say study the history of times past, it does not paint a pretty picture of 'Moslem' empires. For those still with the belief that the 'crusades' started this, they were a counter strike to a 'Moslem' empire attacking 'Christian' Europe...first.
For better or worse, this will not be over in our life time. More dead will lie at the feet of both sides until the countries who support the schools, pay the imams, and build the madrassahs which support these teachings stop. We will fight to preserve our way of life, they will fight to change ours and bring us under their sway. That is the sum reality of it.
Om, nomnomnom...
In the coded message of what seems like an email about a boy's Birthday party, it says:
"Don't think of showering as it may harm your health."
Okay stinker!
But then it finishes with
"I don't have any gravel [probably ammunition or bomb-making material]"
How this is supposed to fool anyone, I don't know.
B.S. to me. I don't know about any of you, but it sounds like someone has been working on a nice fiction article. Perhaps the seriousness was lost in translation or the writer replaced terms with stuff we would find more recognizable, but this sounds very fabricated. I can't honestly take it seriously.
Exactly, it's like SPY 101 to delete your shit before you bug out. A child would know to do that. But hey, I'm sure the dude has a book deal and he has to feed his family also. Integrity comes second to money, remember?
Cool! Amazing Toys.
According to the Koran, the practices of the Prophet, and Islamic Law, Islam *may* tolerate, and has tolerated, both Judaism and Christianity ... but only in very limited and second class ways.
... others are not and the Koran commands no toleration of them.
They are called the "Dimma" and are basically Jews and Christians subject to a contract that requires them to stipulate to their second class status. Dimma may not serve in Islamic armies, hold weapons, conduct public worship of their faiths, hold public offices, or "offend" Muslims in other ways. Their places of worship must be small, and they cannot build new ones. Their rights to own and use property are restricted.
They are subject to their own laws, and their own selected leaders who are held responsible for any Dimma misdeeds.
It's essentially Jim-Crow Segregation according to religious beliefs not race. Also, please note that OTHER religions such as animist, Bhuddists, Bahai, etc are not recognized and ARE persecuted severely because while Jews and Christians are held to be authentic inheritors of God's revealation (now sadly corrupted)
The Dimma WAS pretty tolerant when the comparison was the Spanish Inquisition. Not so much in the modern era.
As far as the First Gulf War (1991) Bin Laden objected specifically to non-Muslims setting foot on "sacred" soil i.e. Saudi Soil since Saudi was the caretaker state of Mecca and Medina. It was the cause he cited in launching Jihad against the US (and Saudi).
Saddam in any case was a) a nominally Muslim ruler, who fulfilled all the obligations of a muslim, and therefore according to doctrine was a muslim and b) a profoundly hostile to the US regime. While extensive co-operation was unlikely the probability of a Stalin-Hitler type pact was always possible. Two leaders with relatively weak military forces, both muslims, hostile to the US seeking an alliance of convenience? I'd be surprised if there were not any intelligence sharing at the least.
I have read in several places that after Sept. 11, it was Tony Blair who talked Bush down from turning Afganistan into a sheet of glass.
They completely do not understand us at all, and only see our soft side of Brittany Spears, Jerry Springer and stuff like gay marriage, etc. The Japanese before WWII felt the same way, that the US was soft, weak and feckless because we didn't have our society organized on spartan, militaristic lines.
September 11 only served to wake us up and fuel the dreams of the hard men in the Pentagon who dream of sunrise at midnight in the Muslim world. The attack served no military purpose, no strategic purpose and accomplished nothing except to make anyone in America who ever had sympathy for the Arab cause to keep quiet for fear of a punch in the nose or worse. (Despite the tone of this post, I actually am, and do think the Israeli policies towards the Arabs are wrong, but, I'll never say THAT in public, especially after those films of the Eyptians and Palestinians dancing in the streets and passing sweets after the attack.
September 11th was as if the Japanese had, instead of bombing Pearl Harbour, had one day decided to randomly bomb downtown Honolulu just to kill as many civilians as possible just for the hell of it.
The present administration is a bunch of idiots, who couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag. Homeland Security is joke that won't stop any attacks. But, after the terrorists next attack, a different sort of cold, cruel and efficient sort will take the reigns in America and any Arab with sense will make sure to avoid major cities in his country and keep lots of canned goods and ammunition in his fall-out shelter.
and therefore it is not up to you to decide when to end it or why
;continues, because for every motherless angry muslim child you create you have another "terrorist" in the making and the root of the problem, Hate, is never brought to the forefront so the wars are neverending; which is what they want because a never ending war means a reason for your gov't to always be in absolute control for "your protection".
lets not forget that if you were going out and doing this by yourself without the US having declared them "enemy combatants" you'd be in jail, its not okay to kill people who are "innocent" but once most people agree they're "guilty" of doing something worth punishing everyone wants everyone else dead, thus the cycle
i love how the irony and hypocrisy of Americans almost always escapes them (I am one btw)
i hate my country because of all the blood sick idiots like yourself
comparing bin laden to a Nazi is totally incorrect for a variety of reasons anyway but I won't bother because reason is anathema to slashdot and its 15 yo doom3 kill-'em-first-ask-questions-later mentality
It is a collection of stories put into a lumped group gathered as acceptable by the cult leader you subscribe to. Each one includes the stories that best support the cult leaders views, which is why the other ones are left out and usually forgotten.
Use your intellect and research the other 70 odd stories not included in what is labelled as the new testament.
I prefer books more modern and filled with facts.
I have just smashed a soda can which I didn't create... what a terrible thing to do!
the root of the problem, Hate, is never brought to the forefront so the wars are neverending;
The trial and hanging of the loser side's leaders after WWII seems to have stopped all hate between Germany/Italy/Japan and the countries that fought them. How does that fit into your theories? If the Japanese soldiers were willing to die for their country in suicide attacks, just like the Muslim terrorists do, why didn't they keep fighting the USA after the war ended?
The author was recently interviewed on NPR. http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=38163 14
To: Al-Qaeda IT group
/. guys and tell them all of this stuff, may be they will have some advice ( I hear the talk all day and night long and do nothing). /. about migrating to Linux and if there is any reliable FLight Simulator available (hijacking scenarios and low altitude urban flight paths training missions required).
From: Osama bin Ladin
Subject: Upgrades?
Dear brother,
We are having some serious problems with our training in camps. The Windows XP systems are constatnly becoming pain the the ***. You see, the thing is that we upgraded from Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. After the upgrade, our local administrators applied a IE patch, and now whenever the computers start up, a blue screen appears. And nothing happens. I hope you can fathom the loss of time and training we are experiencing over this. Our to-be-suicide-pilots cannot get the required training now.
We tried uninstalling MFS 2004 version and re-installing MFS2000 version, but tha MFS 2000 fails to install citing some DirectX compatibility problems. All this is seriously affecting our future planning.
I want you, my dear brother, to find this Bill Gates guy and find out how to fix this thing. But remember, do not harm in in any way, I hear he is releasing something called XP SP 2 which is going to let hell lose all over the place.
If he fails to fix our ptoblem, kindly contact the
Also seek advice from the
May you rest in peace.
Osama
[File Attachment]: Win32.Sasser.worm
p.s. what is this Win32.Sasser.worm, kindly brief our local IT staff about this, it appears to be with every mail we receive or send out there. I hope this is not some CIA trick to track our emals.
p.p.s. By second hand compaq laptops and IBM computers from Peshawer, install new hard disks, prepare fake email exhanges between the top 10 most wanted on FBI list and sell those computers to some infidel reporters for a profit. WIll use the profit to get you guys some GeForce 6800 cards, so you can practice some urban warfare with Doom3
Michael Moore for President
> The middle east problem is being solved by invading places like Iraq. Not that we should go to war for peace in the Middle East--as an American, that is not related to the US national defense and thus is not a justification. (But I still feel it was justified in the aim of national defense)
Everyone his own opinion..
> However--Iraq was a major source of funding for Islamist terrorists in Israel.
Uh, mind showing any proof of that? so far I all heard was that that claim is rather unfounded.
If you are talking about Iran and funding Hezbolah, that is an entirely different story.
> You can't have peace in the middle east until you stop fueling the terrorists--and the fuel isn't theology, hatred, or inequality...it's money.
Yes, money is the problem, however not in the way you seem to think. Lack of money among common people, not to say utter poverty, is what allows groups like Hamas, Hezbolah, and even Al-Queda to find support among the people, and make the whole thing an uphill battle for anyone they decide to fight, unless you believe that simply destroying the middle east and all that lives there is a solution.
> If anything, this article reveals Islamic fundamentalist terrorism as the sham it is. It's not based around a religious belief--it's a corporation that generates profits from terror. They've got public relations, issue mission statements, and deal with the media.
Yes, as is quite evident from them denouncing any modernity unless it helps them with their effords to spread fear.
You cannot stop such people simply by means of policy, but you can change the fact that they can easily recruit people to do the dirty work.
There are reasons why it is so much easier to recruit peopel for such actions in many middle eastern countries then it is in most of the west (not that it is impossible in the west, just a lot more difficult)
A large factor in how sensitive peopel are for extremist ideas is how well they can live their lives. If you want proof of that, please read up a bit on Germany during the 20s and 30s of the last century for example.
> It's hilarious to me when people try to say that our foreign policy is what drives these people--that our policies made poor folks like Bin-Laden strike out (who despite his cave dwelling is among the world's rich elite) It's money and power that these people want. And they'll kill all of you to get it.
Bin-Laden is not poor, his message appeals to poor people without much of a future.
And yes, the US foreign policy is in part to blame for this situation, but only in part.
Wouldn't it be embarassing, if these guys were the first to introduce Linux to Afghanistan?..
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Good, let them fire a few nukes at the USA. Because if they do, they signed their own death wish. We DO have 200MT warheads enough to punch a nasty fucking crator in the ground seen from space. You wanna play with Nukes. OK, game on...
Be carefull who you wave your big stick at, someone is bound to have a bigger one.
Life is not for the lazy.
You are deliberately lying or hopelessly misinformed when you say 'EVERYONE' thought Iraq had WMDs. The people on the ground in Iraq, the weapons inspectors said there was nothing to suggest Iraq had them, or that it was planning to make them. Your arguments show nothing unfortunately. The USA would have looked stupid sending its troops without chemical when it was claiming Iraq had chemical weapons. That they wore them does not prove that they believed there were chemical weapons there. USA, and its ally UK, where the only countries that 'believed' Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. The weapons inspectors were asking for more time, because they couldn't find anything, because there was nothing. We know that Israel is nuclear. Why do you not want Iran to be nuclear? What sort of a world is it where one enemy believes they have a right to stop others arming themselves. Iran biggest justification for arming themselves is that there are countries likewise armed. Actually, I think all countries should acquire nuclear weapons. Right down to Zimbabwe. If for no better reason than that there are countries like USA with them. It is not up to anyone to prove that Iraq sent their weapons to Iran. You have to prove they did if you suspect they did so. Why would any right thinking person ship his weapons away on the eve of being attacked. It does not make sense. It is now face saving to suggest that. Lybia gave up their program because they were threatened. sometimes the only thing you can do when faced by an obviously stronger BULLY is to give in, because you have your people you lead to think about. Lybians like Gaddafi actually, he is a 'benevolent' dictator, and gives to the poor rather than takes from them, which is what your 'elected leaders' seem more liekly to do in the US. If you look at the build up to the second world war, yo uwill find that people were generally unwilling to declare war on Hitler until it became obvious that he was bringing the war to them. You do not attack someone who is sufficiently powerful to beat the crap out of you. You reason with them. The only reason US attacked Saddam was because they knew he couldn't offer resistance, and they would roll over him. No WMDs, that meant it was safe to go in.
Is there a reasoned, sensible pro-Palestinian debate anywhere?
Karma: Excellent (My Karma? I wish...:-( )
Parent's speculations are, in fact, correct. It's worth noting, too, that it _is_ possible to read the magnetic fields on a disk with an electron microscope, and that's one way to see that the "1" you're looking at is actually a 0.95 (or that it is written slightly to the left of the track, and that there's a 0 peeking out under the right edge.)
Come off it - any appointments either Kerry or Bush make have to run a gauntlet to get in. And ever when they get there, sometimes they aren't what anyone thought.
If you're voting just on the grounds of who gets to assign SC justices, then you are really missing the big picture and probably doing more harm than good - whoever you vote for.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I think you're confusing poor for well-funded. Were they able to travel and attend school because they took out student loans or because Uncle Laden paid the bills?
The point was that the majority of these foot soldiers come from poor conditions where they can be told "they are to blame for your lot in life".
Just my $0.02
Things fall down...People look up... And when it rains, it pours.
If he's a viewer of FOX news then he's hopelessly misinformed.
The theory now goes something along these lines....
Sadam and his sons instilled so much fear into the people of Iraq, that those that worked for him would do or say anything to not get killed. And all along Sadam tried to build up a weapons program. But, saying it is not possible to Sadam surely ment your death wish. So basically, Sadam THOUGHT he had a WMD program....and thus so did everyone else based on inside leaked information.
Ironic isn't? Sadam thought he had a WMD program, and so did Bush. But, the people he ruled all lied to him to save their own ass from failure to carry out Sadams wishes for a weapons program. Ohhh....to funny if this is true. Talk about the US and British calling Iraqs bluff.
Life is not for the lazy.
Not exactly. I am no expert, but I assume that there can be data maintained on the disk at a level well below what the normal read/write head of a disk can detect, but may be detectable via other more sensitive(albeit slower) methods.
Choose your allies carefully, it is highly unlikely you will be held accountable for the actions of your enemies
That being said, I was a little disappointed that they didn't use a "ghost" smiley. You know:
~~~~~~~~~(m--)m
- The Greeks
Intellectual repression. Sound familiar?
- The Romans
Repression of the masses.
- The French
Repression of the masses.
Especially your last example made little sense, as starving to death is a very good prerogative to start a revolution.
If you're thinking of the Napoleanic Wars, then be more specific. They were, however, started for the very same reason that the US started the Spanish wars.
- They learned that they could gather a formidable military.
That's okay, I'm still trying to figure out how wanting a balanced budget makes me a lefty socialist pinko commie fag.
It's been a long time.
There are no objective truths.
Insight is only given to the seeker of insight, and you, Sir (or Madam), are a fuckwit.
My truth is that I do not believe in the existence of God (Allah/JHVH/etc), but I can not rule their existence out of the realm of the possible. Why not?
I have no way of proving nor disproving the existence of a being capable of creating a universe, and therefore control the rules governing this universe, and in the end, the means to control the evidence of existence/non-existence.
On the choice of a deity to not show itself:
Why should I care whether or not my code knows that I've created it, as long as it does what I've designed it to?
Actually, Ghengis Kahn singled out the aristocracy. Coming from humble beginnings himself, he saw the rich as useless. The poor were left alone. I recently heard a story on NPR (public radio here in America) about how much better life was under the Mongols.
He's not suggesting that there's software that can do this. He's saying that if you were to take a tunneling electron microscope, you would be able to read more than just one layer of "erased" data. There was a VERY LONG and detailed thread about this on Full-Disclosure last month. Check the archive for the thread "Erasing a hard drive easily".
Local taxes don't pay for the military. In the US we have this thing called Federal Income Tax that pays for the military. Also schools get federal funding not just state and municipal funding.
Win a signed Stephen Carpenter ESP Guitar from the Deftones: http://def-tag.com/?r=0008781
The current state of affairs between the US, the Middle Eastern states, and antisystemic movements like al-Qaeda seems more complicated. Review the history of imperialism and it is obvious how we have exploited them, as we did the rest of the world. The exploitation was wrong--but set up the same relative economic/military/political conditions and the same thing will happen every time.
What I'm trying to say is that Middle Easterners have no end of legitimate grievances against the US & UK, but those dominating states didn't exactly have many options--they were masters of but also constrained within the capitalist economic system. Giving the citizens of the Middle East a fair share of Western profits would have been economically and politically impossible, then or now.
The classic text on this is the essay "The Rise and Future Demise of the Modern World System" by Immanuel Wallerstein. Wallerstein is both very cynical and very sober in his analysis; he is also very hopefull that we can do better [in terms of equity], although I am skeptical of that.
What I've heard from an actual data recovery company, not an Anonymous on the Internet, is that there has been no research so far that resulted in a recovery of a data fragment from a disk using external tools such as an electron microscope or some such. Yes, it has been proven that there are detectable traces of old data after it's overwritten, but there is no proof that it can be actually recovered on a useful scale.
So my suggestion is to simply overwrite the file. ANY safe deletion utility is ok, because even overwriting the file once with anything will work. Alternatively, you can just fill the partition by copying random files (an archive is sufficiently random, or just generate a new file) there. Noone will be able to recover your overwritten data, not even NSA.
Again, there is no evidence that overwritten files can be read from the HDD.
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
Please send a Gmail invite to osamabinl@hotmail.com - I can wire you money!
Sincerely,
ObL
Hitler was a very neat and tidy man, who had trouble connecting to other people - he disliked touching, even his later-wife, Eva Braun.
Either I saw this in a Discovery documentary, but more likely I saw it in 'Im toten Winkel - Hitlers Sekretärinn. MSN, BBC, IMDB, Amazon DE
It is a very good movie, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in that era, and especially in the workings of a terror regime that kept it's society in a trance.
Be warned, though, that you might need a lot of coffee.
The poor were left alone. I recently heard a story on NPR
This is what you get for listening to NPR.
Sure, the peasants were left alone, if the king submitted to Ghengis. But if he didn't....
Everybody was wiped out, from the newborn to the geezer.
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
Tell a lie enough times it becomes true. Most Palestinians actually voluntarily left, at the urging of their Arab neighbors, to get out of the way of the invading Arab armies, and then move back after the Jews are defeated. It is estimated only about 1/3 of the Arabs actually were forced out.
The palestinians maintain that they were forced out, and the israelis mantain that the palestinians voluntarily abandoned their homes. I wasn't there, but the palestinian case is much more believable. This argument put forth by the pro-israel lobby -- "they just GAVE their houses to us spontaneously, who knows why" -- is very difficult to believe and would never withstand the evidentiary tests required to constitute a legal transfer of property.
But even if palestinians voluntarily left, still, the fact is irrelevant. Voluntarily leaving one's home doesn't imply that ownership of the home is thereby transferred to zionists. The homes remain the property of owners until they sell them or transfer the titles.
Plus, you mention the occupation, and conveniently ignore that prior to this, West Bank was occupied by Jordan, and Gaza was occupied by Egypt. Why, then, weren't these occupations fought against?
Egypt has not established settlements by evicting the former residents of Gaza.
Let's look at the PA. I bet you're not aware that it is illegal under penalty of death for any Palestinian to sell land to any Jew. Period. Note - not Israeli, but JEW. Why doesn't any human rights champion condemn this? It seems only Israel is the violator of human rights in the region.
I'm certainly not justifying the barbarism and violence of much of the arab world. Nevertheless this doesn't justify Israel's activities.
It wasn't Israel turning itself [apartheid], it was the actions BOTH of Israel and its Arab neighbors that led to the situation today.
Israel was an apartheid state from the beginning. The entire point of zionism was to eject the indigenous population of palestine and create a state of jewish people. Zionism was not about moving to Israel and living among the people who were already there. The initial decision to create a "jewish state" to the exclusion of others was a tremendous mistake, and the ejection of the native population necessitated by it has led to decades of conflict.
I don't understand why Israel doesn't just dismantle the settlements and get back into its 1967 borders. Over time (perhaps decades) the hatred will fade. But instead, Israel engages in stupidly provocative tactics like building settlements and exropriating more land. And for what purpose? A few more square miles of land? What amazes me about both Israel and the U.S. is that their moves on the world stage are so terribly idiotic. Israel has managed to re-ignite anti-semitism worldwide, to an extent not seen since the 1930's, and the U.S. continues to tinker in the politics of the middle east, with the same disastrous long-term consequences as always. What baffles me is that both countries (the U.S. and Israel) see these maneuvers as being in their self-interest. Bizarre. I was starting to think that they were intentionally injuring themselves. How terribly tragic that Israelis, Palestinians, Americans and Arabs must suffer because of idiots like Sharon and Bush.
As a long time slashdot reader I registered just to respond to this utter crap. The parent get a plus one for... what? Inane rhetoric?
"transhuman", Would you like to cite references for your baseless (in our collective reality) conspiracy, or just skip right to psychiatric help perhaps?
If you believe that many hundreds, even thousands of "inside" people could keep a "plot" like yours together for any extended period of time, you do not understand human nature.
But of course, citing you: "This is amateur night at its worst. It makes my bank robberies look high-tech." You know all about keeping big secrets... toad
Get on some meds, or call in to Coast-To-Coast AM for some real psuedo-intellectual laughs!
But you don't see US forces celebrating the death of civilians.
Just because they're prisoners, doesn't mean they aren't civilians.
Non-religious fundamentalism is part of the problem as well. Fundamentalism ("strict adherence to a system of beliefs") is often given a spriritual justification. But promises of wealth, racial supremacy theories, FUD etc, can be leveraged as well to rally the masses behind one true way to think.
Could it be that "The War on Terror", which according to the article can be seen as a success of Bin Laden's plan, is used to promote another form of Fundamentalism?
The articles provides food for thought, and shows how issues are more complex than usually depicted in the media -- because mass media seems to skip to conclusions, as rightful and correct as they can be, polarizing and strengthening the opinion. Because you need to be strong to face an opponent.
In a conflict, no party has the monopoly of terror and brute force - or there would be no conflict. While we want to be strong, keeping an understanding the motives of "the other" helps find more creative and pacific ways to *undermine* terror -- if and when a compromise is possible. Because war can only fight terrorists, not Terror. War is Terror, war feeds Terror, and war can only bring ephemeral and bitter victories.
Are compromises possible with fundamental islamists? Even though I oppose their acts and beliefs, can I sympathize with some of the motives they use to justify their action?
Like the fact that some UN resolutions are more enforceable than others? Like the building of walls, reminicent of past ghettoes, across occupied territories? Like discriminations based on religion being perpetrated? Like Human Rights and the laws we established being decreted, by our own leaders and without open debate, as "not applicable" in some areas and circumstances?
While it is important to stand united against an agression, we need to keep some room for debate. We need to keep widely accessible forums where all perspectives are confronted and debated publicly. If not, we are paving the road to a revival of fundamentalisms.
Jesus Christ, where do you get this idea? EVERYONE thought Iraq had WMD. We knew they had it at one point, we knew they wanted to make more of it, we just never could find proof that they didn't, and Iraq decided to go to war instead of simply proving they had gotten rid of what they had. Why would they have done that? How can you prove their stockpiles weren't sent to Syria or Iran? If they had no stockpiles of WMD, where did those shells with chemical weapons inside come from (I suppose they just made one or two of those things right?)
Well, there was the work of one Hans Blix for starters. Unlike the UN, how many human assets did the US have in Iraq before the war? Ziltch. They went off about those trailers (disproven before the war) aluminum tubes (disproven before the war). Yes, folks in the US thought everyone thought this because their government said so. The US government believed it because they were overzealous--anything would buttress their beliefs. Most outside the US questioned it of course. There are always reports of a shell here or there but so far I don't think any have been shown out to be viable. They have used these weapons previously (and one should ask where they got them) but they don't last forever-- they decompose. Finding some shell from the 80s does not constitute an active program.
If there were significant WMD assets there would have to be a convoy of trucks to a WMD storage depot in say Syria. Satelite images would be all over the news now if this was the case because they were looking...
Also, this idea of a country being in our "dog house" is absurd. You act like it is our fault these countries are oppressing their people and building WMDs to threaten surrounding countries!
I'm saying that US government is backing countries into corners and this policy is not having positive outcomes. The US may have got it's bases back in the Middle East (after leaving Saudi Arabia), but the cost was a much less stable Middle East. That defeats the purpose of the whole adventure, doesn't it?
It isn't about oppression of their citizens. That is important but it wasn't part of my argument.
BTW, one country "in our doghouse," Lybia, took a different path than the one you think is so rational, and gave up their WMD program.
Libya wanted out of the dog-house long before Sept 11, though are being championed as a success story of this administration. Fact is that the US is in the world's dog house and were looking for a success story. Any success story.
Now it looks as though Iraq may be unravelling......
-b
Hey, moron!
Refute anything I said, or fuck right the hell off.
First of all, where did I say such a conspiracy requires "hundreds or even thousands" of people? What I described requires almost NO people - a few higher ups in the FBI and the CIA, and a lot compartmentalization in the lower ranks?
You don't think the FBI covered up fore-knowledge of the events? Read anything about Sibel Edmonds. Read Coleen Rowly's memo to the FBI director here
It's the brainless "remote airplane" conspiracy theories that postulate hundreds of passengers "disappearing" that require a lot of people to be quieted. My explanation requires none of that. All of it was done by a few Mossad assets and a handful of criminals employed by the CIA. The actual attack and other related activities were carried out by the Al Qaeda patsies who knew nothing (which, based on the article, seems to be their chronic condition.)
You want to see how far the Pentagon would go to fake an attack on the US? Google for the "Northwoods documents". Most of the sites carrying them are rightwing loony sites but the documents themselves are genuine.
You want to see how far Israel will go to put intelligence agents in the United States? Read this
You're just another ignorant "citizen" who gets his news from Fox and thinks he's "well-informed".
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
... permeates this story.
... or possibly part of someone's political agenda.
Stop and think: what are the odds that the CIA would fail to ensure that all copies of this most (potentially) vital intelligence was in their hands? Do you really think that they would let this guy make a copy or that they wouldn't have shut him down if he had? Get real.
Several other posts have pointed out the general implausibility of the acquisition and transfer of data. The last bit on the general agenda seems too close to vindicating the Bush agenda.
Pure hoax
"Consensus" in science is _always_ a political construct.
I bet you do...
Christian conservatives use their faith to guide their entire life.
So do muslim extremists.
So you call them fanatics.
Yes you do.
Christian conservatives are the main political force behind both the anti-slavery movement and the pro-women voting movement.
Nope. By definition, liberals are for changes like that.
Of course, a few generations after liberals have enacted a dramatic change such as emancipation or woman's lib, then the conservatives want things to be the way they are, but the change is not a conservative move, my delusional friend.
Al-Queda argues for violent forced conversions
So do republicans
pet-like treatment of women
So do republicans (not ALL republicans, of course)
and terrorism against civilians.
So do republicans, though they call it "liberating" and "regime change", but getting your country blown up by foreigners is as terrifying no matter who does the bombing.
Of course, republicans think that blowing up Americans is wrong, and blowing up foreigners is ok...
Sounds like you are the bigot with the discrimination problem. But prove me wrong. Explain why Republicans (which I assume you mean Christian conservatives) are racist religious fanatics.
Wow! You put words in my mouth, then say that these imaginary things you make believe I said mean that I am something bad, then demand I prove you wrong! I am SURE that you won't keep trolling me post after post after post, so I will gladly bite and reply to those things you prented I said as if they were my words! Really!
But do you really need someone to tell you why christian *somethings* are religious *somethings*?
P.S. Jesus is against the death penalty, and against war. If you want to throw the first sone, you are NOT following the word of Christ. Simple as that.
Terrorist fly planes in your buildings? Turn the other cheek. If you want revenge, stop pretending to be Jesus' buddy.
You can't take the sky from me...
Who TF said anything about hating America? I don't know where you got that from...either you're totally off your knocker, or you're smoking too much pot.
Relax, dude, it's a joke, one of several that I sprinkled through the post to try to keep it from getting too intense.
The "America" comment is a reference to the "Why do you hate America?" meme. That is, to respond to any criticism of the current government with the aforementioned question.
For example:
"George W. Bush is a corrupt war-monger!"
"Why do you hate America?"
The thing is, this is how the American right wing actually does respond to a lot of its critics--by accusing them of being unpatriotic. This is a really clever way of confusing the issue but if you reduce it to five words, the whole thing becomes silly.
On some of the USENET groups I frequent, it's become common to follow up to any criticism of the government with that question, just as a joke. I'd sort of assumed that it had made its way to Slashdot as well since I'm almost always last in line when the memes get handed out.
Also, I never smoke pot but anyone who knows me will tell you I've been off my rocker for a long time.
Well, there was the work of one Hans Blix for starters. Unlike the UN, how many human assets did the US have in Iraq before the war? Ziltch.
Hans Blix and the rest of the UN were kicked out of Iraq by Saddam's government. Blix never found WMD. Does that prove they weren't there? No, it only proves that he never found them.
Yes, folks in the US thought everyone thought this because their government said so. The US government believed it because they were overzealous--anything would buttress their beliefs. Most outside the US questioned it of course.
This is false. Several countries with the power to gather intelligence thought Iraq had WMD, including the UK, Italy, and Spain.
There are always reports of a shell here or there but so far I don't think any have been shown out to be viable. They have used these weapons previously (and one should ask where they got them) but they don't last forever-- they decompose. Finding some shell from the 80s does not constitute an active program.
It doesn't matter if the program is active or not. They had WMD, they never explained where it went or proved it was gone. Old WMD is still WMD. Some of it decomposes if not kept correctly, other is still deadly on a widescale.
If there were significant WMD assets there would have to be a convoy of trucks to a WMD storage depot in say Syria. Satelite images would be all over the news now if this was the case because they were looking...
Well what do we have here?
http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/29054.htm
Do you honestly believe that our satellites could have covered every mile of Iraq's border, at all times of day? The satellite has to zoom in quite a bit to get any detail, which cuts off how much it can track. Then you have the issue of it orbiting the earth, and not being able to be positioned over Iraq at all times.
The US may have got it's bases back in the Middle East (after leaving Saudi Arabia), but the cost was a much less stable Middle East. That defeats the purpose of the whole adventure, doesn't it?
The who adventure was not to gain bases but to kill terrorists, so no, it worked out quite well.
As an aside, I do not believe we should have military stationed outside our country, but that is another subject entirely.
Libya wanted out of the dog-house long before Sept 11
But did they do anything to help their situation before now? No. Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which fills up first. Wanting out isn't the same as getting out. Why did they get out? Because they broke down under the pressure.
Fact is that the US is in the world's dog house
Only until whoever thinks poorly of us needs some of our money or our charity.
Now it looks as though Iraq may be unravelling......
Although the democrats would love that to happen, the reality is that Sadr's army in Najaf is being killed off, and the foreign fighters in Iraq are threatening one of the world's holiest destinations. The rest of Iraq is getting better.
Sad news, isn't it?
Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.