UK Woman Charged As Terrorist For Computer Files

Terror Alert Brown writes "Reuters is reporting that a UK woman has been charged as a terrorist because of computer files on her hard drive. According to the article, these files included 'the Al Qaeda Manual, The Terrorists Handbook, The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook, a manual for a Dragunov sniper rifle, and The Firearms and RPG Handbook.' She was picked up in connection with the plot stopped in August to detonate explosives in airplanes flying out of Heathrow airport. Now might be a good time to delete any copies of the Anarchist's Cookbook you once read for amusement and still have floating around on your hard drive."

Comments

Re:I guess it would be a good time to bring it up

[Anonymous Coward]

Better review your "experts", then. Liquid explosives are both "feasible" and "existant". (Try "extant", BTW.)

In fact, some explosives are preferred in some applications precisely because they're liquid. That's one of the main virtues of an ANFO slurry, for example. You just pump it into the holes you drilled in the rock and set it off. (The other big virtue is that it's cheap.) Since it's a liquid, it automatically fills all the gaps, and it's a lot easier just to pour it in than to try to pack down some sort of set of solid cartridges or plastic.

Nitroglycerin is another classic liquid explosive. In this case, it's a bit too sensitive, hence the invention of dynamite to stablize the pure liquid form. Nitromethane, on the other hand, is a liquid that generally needs to be mixed with a "sensitizer" to make it easier to detonate.

There's a mixture called Astrolite discovered back in the 60's that's a clear liquid, twice as powerful as TNT. Ammonium nitrate plus anhydrous hydrazine, just basic chemicals.

Binary explosives, often with one solid and one liquid component, are also commercially popular. The big advantage here is that you can transport the two components separately without special handling, since they're not an explosive until you mix them at the blasting site.

Sometimes it's most convenient for an explosive to come in the form of a gel, rather than a liquid, powder, plastic, or solid. All of these forms exist commercially today. None of them are fantastic imaginary sci-fi conceptions generated by a conspiracy to fake terror technology, as you imply.

Re:RPG handbook

[PayPaI]

I of course misinterpreted the acronym, but they sure do look like RPG manual titles, don't they? "Dungeons and Dragunovs". Did they read them? They'd feel rather silly I bet if they said "At level five, you can learn Mujahideen Sneaky Poison Attack that does 2d6 damage if you roll..."

Wouldn't be the first time

Re:Is worse for those of us that bought the book.

[LurkerXXX]

Better be careful, carrying lock picks in certain jurisdictions is a crime. Including Washington D.C.

Just a thought

[tkrotchko]

"so you're a cop, and this guy is bringing a night vision scope into the country"

You realize they sell those things at Costco, right?

The documents in question

[NightHwk1]

I'm sure a handful of other people are posting it as I'm writing this, but here's a link to the Mujahideen Poisons handbook.

Also, the Al-Qaeda Manual (interestingly, this was distributed by the FBI)

The Dragunov sniper rifle manual

No luck searching for the RPG & Firearms handbook.

Re:Since when is linking a crime?

[udderly]

Please try to read John Stuart Mill's treatise, On Liberty. Mill discusses a danger to democracy he refers to as "the tyranny of the majority." This is one of the strongest arguments for a Republic that has intrinsic rights at its core.

Re:It's a strange time

[IcyHando'Death]

Some reading material for you all:

The Al Qaeda Manual: http://www.disastercenter.com/terror/
The Terrorist's Handbook: http://www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/irresponsible_ac tivities/168593.html
The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook: http://www.thedisease.net/arcana/nbc/chemical/Muja hideen_Poisons.pdf
The Dragunov Sniper Rifle Technical Description and Service Manual: http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/manual/english/svd/

Now don't go reading this stuff and getting yourself arrested.

Re:Linky?

[RKBA]

who's going to provide a link to where we can all download said handbooks?

Mujahideen Poisons Handbook (PDF)

Re:Since when is linking a crime?

[Richard_at_work]

No formal charges?

DONALD STEWART WHYTE, 21, OF HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKS

Charge under Section 5 (1) the Terrorism Act 2006 says "between 1 January and 10 August 2006, with the intention of committing acts of terrorism, [he was] preparing to smuggle parts of improvised explosive devices on to aircraft and assemble and detonate them on board".

Mr Stewart Whyte also faces three firearms charges. The first said "on 9 August he had in his possession a Baikal 8mm pistol, contrary to section 5 (1) of the Firearms Act 1968".

He is also charged with possessing a magazine clip with 10 rounds of ammunition and a silencer without holding a firearms certificate, contrary to section 1 (1) of the Firearms Act 1968.

MOHAMMED SADDIQUE, 24, OF WALTHAMSTOW, EAST LONDON

Charge under Section 5 (1) the Terrorism Act 2006 also says "between 1 January and 10 August 2006, with the intention of committing acts of terrorism, [he was] preparing to smuggle parts of improvised explosive devices on to aircraft and assemble and detonate them on board".

AHMED ABDULLAH ALI (AKA ABDULLAH ALI AHMED KHAN), 25, OF WALTHAMSTOW, EAST LONDON

On diverse days between 1 January 2006 and 10 August 2006 within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court conspired with other persons to murder other persons (contrary to Section 1 (1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977).

On diverse days between 1 January 2006 and 10 August 2006 within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court with the intention of committing acts of terrorism engaged in conduct to give effect to their intention to smuggle the component parts of improvised explosive devices onto aircraft and assemble and detonate them on board (contrary to Section 5 (1) of the Terrorism Act 2006).

TANVIR HUSSAIN, 25, OF NO FIXED ADDRESS

On diverse days between 1 January 2006 and 10 August 2006 within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court conspired with other persons to murder other persons (contrary to Section 1 (1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977).

On diverse days between 1 January 2006 and 10 August 2006 within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court with the intention of committing acts of terrorism engaged in conduct to give effect to their intention to smuggle the component parts of improvised explosive devices onto aircraft and assemble and detonate them on board (contrary to Section 5 (1) of the Terrorism Act 2006).

UMAR ISLAM (AKA BRIAN YOUNG), 28, OF STRATFORD, EAST LONDON

On diverse days between 1 January 2006 and 10 August 2006 within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court conspired with other persons to murder other persons (contrary to Section 1 (1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977).

On diverse days between 1 January 2006 and 10 August 2006 within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court with the intention of committing acts of terrorism engaged in conduct to give effect to their intention to smuggle the component parts of improvised explosive devices onto aircraft and assemble and detonate them on board (contrary to Section 5 (1) of the Terrorism Act 2006).

ARAFAT WAHEED KHAN, 25, OF WALTHAMSTOW

On diverse days between 1 January 2006 and 10 August 2006 within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court conspired with other persons to murder other persons (contrary to Section 1 (1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977).

On diverse days between 1 January 2006 and 10 August 2006 within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court with the intention of committing acts of terrorism engaged in conduct to give effect to their intention to smuggle the component parts of improvised explosive devices onto aircraft and assemble and detonate them on board (contrary to Section 5 (1) of the Terrorism Act 2006).

ASSAD ALI SARWAR, 26, OF HIGH WYCOMBE

On diverse days between 1 January 2006 and 10 August 2006 within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court conspired with other persons to murder other persons (contrary to