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Gangs on the Internet

mikesd81 writes "Apparently street gangs have gotten Web-savvy. Web Bangers are posting potentially incriminating photos and taunts on their websites. Police departments suddenly faced with gangs are looking for help on the gangs' own easy-to-find Web sites. The director of the National Gang Crime Research Center has stated "In order to understand any subculture, be it al-Qaida, witches, devil worshippers or gangs, you have to be able to know their own language.' Knox said it's important for police to learn how to read between the lines on gang Web sites and blogs. Just as time on the streets has given gang investigators the ability to read the hieroglyphics of wall graffiti, time on the Web helps them understand arcane Web clues. Gang identifiers, such as tattoos, graffiti tags, colors and clothing often are embedded in each site."

10 of 402 comments (clear)

  1. On YouTube. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I have actually seen footage on youtube of crime being showed of as if it is something to be proud of.
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=bMJjIFZYq3I
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=bhNuETvjakw
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=w2G_PwKwK7Y

  2. Re:Al Queda, witches, devil worshippers, and gangs by Anivair · · Score: 2, Informative

    I am not a witch. They dressed me like this. The mentality of someone (associated with the police) who compares terrirists to witches and devil worshipers cares me terribly. Leave the devil worshipers and witches alone and go after territorists and street gangs, eh? To count that's two groups that are actually dangerous and two groups whose existance is clearly protected by the costitution. I now return you to your regularly scheduled geekery.

  3. Dial 100 for assistance by kkiller · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://nickciske.com/tools/binary.php

    Balmer!

  4. Re:Al Queda, witches, devil worshippers, and gangs by plumby · · Score: 2, Informative
    Oh, yeah, about those Crusades: many, many, centuries ago, my li'l crystal polisher.
    OK, I'll bite.

    On Sunday, Bush warned Americans that "this crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take awhile." I'll leave it up to you to decide whether Bush really does want a Christian war in the Middle East or whether he's just stupid and ignorant.
  5. Re:those evil Wiccans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    RTFA

    First of all, she murdered him because he was leaving her. It wasn't as part of a ritual.

    Secondly, it doesn't say anywhere that she was a wiccan - just that he was.

    Even if she is a wiccan, it's no different to the numerous christians who commit murder despite the 'thou shall not kill' commandment.

  6. Re:They aren't career criminals by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    It's not because they can't afford to, it's because they can't budget and most are their own best customers.

    You should read the referenced chapter in Freakonomics. It's based on studies and statistics and tracing the money flows, not anecdotes, and the conclusion is that most drug dealers at the street level don't make very much money because it's the next layer up that makes it all, allowing the street dealers to keep just enough to keep them interested.

  7. Re:Al Queda, witches, devil worshippers, and gangs by iainl · · Score: 2, Informative

    "long histories and complex traditions"? The Church of Satan dates back to April 30, 1966. That's oh so very long indeed.

    While we're at it, every "pagan" I've ever met follows a fairly recently concocted hodgepodge of dozens of individual, mutually contradictory bits of pre-Christian religions, along with a healthy dose of made-up nonsense. "Wicca" dates back to the 1920s, at best.

    So yeah, I look down on it.

    --
    "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
  8. Re:those evil Wiccans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    In order to understand any subculture, be it al-Qaida [sic] ... Al-Quaeda ....

    Not to be pedantic (well, yes, to be pedantic), but 'Qaida' is a perfectly fine transliteration of the term. If you want to be a bit more precise, I'd use 'al-Qa'idah,' but 'al-Qaeda,' 'al-Qaida' and 'al-Qa'ida' are virtually standardized in Western usage. 'al-Quaeda' is an outlier, and I'm not sure what transliteration system was used to come up with it, if any. I have seen it in a number of British newspaper articles, but it's a definite minority opinion, and really should be disfavored.

    In written Arabic, the term is 'qaf-'alif-'ayn-dal-ta' marbuta' (qa'dH, where the 'H' is unvoiced). In pronounciation, it's something like 'KHAA-(glottal stop+i)-dah', in which the first consonant is a strongly plosive and gutteral 'kh'. Since it's rather difficult to properly pronounce Arabic in conversational English (hell, it's difficult to pronounce Arabic at all, properly or improperly!), 'ka'ida' and 'kai-da' are close alternatives, with the first being closer. Pronounciations like 'kay-da,' 'kway-da,' 'key-da' and 'kwee-da' are right out.

    In any case, please don't follow the NYT convention of capitalizing the definitive article; 'al-' is standard usage.

    Damned witches.

    -tWB

  9. Re:those evil Wiccans by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 2, Informative

    It's possible, but also remember dogs scent glands are around that area. Often the dominate dog will drag it's ass along it's home to leave it's mark there. The same way male dogs pee all over the place, female dogs often drag.

    --
    I like muppets.
  10. Re:How about acting dignified in the first place? by meltedeyes · · Score: 2, Informative

    I semi agree to most of what you said. I know a few Wiccans that are serious about their religion. What you describe is more the fluff bunny aspect, which admittidly, alot of Wiccnas are. I couldn't stand Wiccans for a long time because of that attitude and all the ones I had met were like that. Attention garning idiots. Then I actually met some that were serious about it. They didn't talk about it, groan in disgust at any mention of the Burning Times, don't wear tons of silver jewelry (if any at all), and didn't even let me know that they were pagan untill I called them out on it. As to the Asatru, you are correct, we don't.