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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."
She was linked to terrorists, and the files are evidence.
She wasn't arrested and charged BECAUSE of the files.
there is a difference.
I am hoping that there were other lines of evidence against this woman as this is what we need to be very careful about here in the US. The concept of a thought crime is not new and any society that starts prosecuting individuals for books they may possess or for studying things is becoming a a darkness right out of an Orwellian nightmare.
Hell, as kids we had copies of the Anarchists cookbook and manuals that the US government printed for crafting insurgencies and survival that had all sorts of directions for creating improvised munitions and such. It makes me wonder if we would have been suspects back then. Of course the early 80's were a different time when a couple of 14-15 year olds could carry a rifle out in the Texas countryside to shoot cans without even a second glance. Now, we have bastardized Republicans (Neocons) who are out to create National IDs, document any passage in and out of the country, search our personal information including credit files and library files, and some even propose to index all of the information on personal computers in an effort to screen out "enemy combatants" not to mention revoking Constitutional rights such as Habeus Corpus. It's a strange time.
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When the Mujahideen Poisons Handbook is outlawed, only outlaws will have the Mujahideen Poisons Handbook.
Uh, if you'll excuse me, I need to go hide my D&D Player's Handbook. Yeah, it's first edition, but you can't be too careful, I guess.
"the Al Qaeda Manual, The Terrorists Handbook, The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook, a manual for a Dragunov sniper rifle, and The Firearms and RPG Handbook."
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..."
Not to be flippant, but even the summary points out that she was arrested in connection with a bomb plot, and then these documents were found. Presumeably the prosecution's case will rely on drawing that connection, with the manuals as circumstantial evidence. Frankly if that's the best they have the case may fail, but if it's part of a larger collection of evidence (like that which lead to her arrest) then it may not. The justice system has held up fairly well as fair as maintaining standards of burden of proof even in terrorism cases, so barring something like false arrest I'm not feeling any rights violations here.
The enemies of Democracy are
a terrorism icon.
The Cookbook and plenty of others that won't help you accidentally kill yourself are available quite legally.
Maybe this will help:
I can buy lockpicks and lockout tools legally. I can buy manuals to unlock any vehicle, also legally.
If I'm busted for conspiracy to steal (as opposed to lawfully repo) cars, that stuff becomes evidence along with the rest of the evidence supporting the charges.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
The write-up is wrong. Now is the time to download ALL the above-mentioned documents, and share them. Let them try to arrest all of us.
I am in full agreement. If reading this article scares you into deleting your text files, then the tyrants running our governments have won, and the citizens have lost.
Now is the time to download and collect as much information on these subjects as you can. Voice your opinion through your actions. If "We the People" believe, in our so-called democracies, that holding such information shouldn't be a criminal offense, then our governments do not have the right to tell us that it is.
Unless, of course, you all disagree...
I caught the Mountain Wumpus! He gave me his treasure chest ($100) to let him go free again.
So... do you know, for certain, that everyone you know, or have exchanged files with or phone messages or mail or time with, is *not* or *will not in the future* be considered a criminal or a terrorist?
Years ago I dated a woman for several months who was arrested (and eventually convicted) as being a courier for a methamphetmine distribution ring a few months after we ceased seeing each other. I had no idea what she was into, but I was visited many times by police officers who grilled me at length as to our relationship - because my phone# was in her cellphone and there were "handwritten documents" - letters, notes, journal entries - in her domicile that had my name on them - and threatened with prison for being "non-cooperative"; my apartment was searched twice, and details of the investigation leaked to local reporters.
I was "associated" with a drug ring, although I had no knowledge nor involvement in it. Fortunately I was cleared without being indicted or subpeoned, but only after several months of random interrogation and very annoying, obvious and aggravating surveillance which cost me reputation and money. Many months later there were still people spreading damaging rumors about me; I eventually moved more than a thousand miles from there, partially for personal reasons, but also because my business dried up to an extent as a result of the attention. One of the things the police threw at me was our intense exchange of phone calls over that short period. They just didn't seem to believe that maybe I was interested in her because she was an attractive woman. I spoke to a local lawyer about it who told me there was no recourse - iow, I couldn't sue the local police department for the damage caused.
I'd like to note that no public statement was ever made by the local PD regarding my innocence, despite repeated demands on the part of me and my lawyer to do so. That, to me, was criminal negligence on the part of the local PD. How many times does one see public apologies for ruining someone's life in that sort of circumstance? IF this woman turns out to have been innocently duped, will she ever recover her life? What recourse might *she* have?
In the US, we have this oft-repeated yet apparently little understood concept called "innnocent until proven guilty". Or at least we used to.
I'm not defending the woman in the article (insufficient data), but I am trying to point out just how damaging baseless allegations can be, especially when made by "authorities" and spread by the media - and if you think that you are immune to it, you might want to reconsider that. It can happen to anyone; don't think you're immune to it simply because you are innocent. People in a society are interconnected, that's why we call it a society. What are you going to do, avoid all connections with other people? There was another sort of damage there - I'm even more paranoid than I used to be when it comes to relationships. Can I sue them for it? Should I? I've been advised against it, as the burden of "proof of damages" would be too difficult. But the damage is very real.
So tell me, friend, where should the line be drawn?
snarked
Don't be silly. Just because someone claims they are a Muslim doesn't mean they are automatically follow all the rules. You could also say that assuming a woman is a Christian she should would definitely not be filthy or a whore as well. You could also note that Christians are great neighbors because they won't envy anything of yours, commit adultery, or steal.
Let me give you a hint: the woman is a human being first and foremost. Whether she claims to be a Muslim or Christian (or other religion), she must first reconcile her normal human 'vices.'
I know it is politically correct nowadays to compensate for negative biases against Muslims by providing positive ones. This counteracts the reality in most Muslim countries where most Muslims are no more virtuous than most Christians are in Christian countries. The negative biases aren't generally true nor are the positive biases. This also applies to Buddhists, Jews, etc.
The write-up is wrong. Now is the time to download ALL the above-mentioned documents, and share them. Let them try to arrest all of us.
I think it is safe to say you missed the essential elements of what happened, so lets recap what we know from the news:
The arrested was Samina Malik, 22, an Asian woman who allegedly was working or had worked at Heathrow airport as a shop assistant. (Could she have been an insider at a juicy target for terrorists?) She has been charged with four offences under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Malik was allegedly associated with Sohail Anjum Qureshi, previously charged as part of the same investigation. How was he nabbed? It is alleged that on 18 October he was plotting to go to Pakistan (well known as home to various terrorist organizations, training camps, and the gateway to Afghanistan)(groups in Pakistan have been tied to a number of attacks planned against the UK) taking with him, among other things:
-Camping equipment
-£9,000 cash
-A night vision scope
-The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook
-Two metal batons
-Combat manuals
It is alleged that was taking terrorist materials to Islamabad..
Investigators then followed the trail from Anjum, back to Malik. Allegedly, she had a number of publications on her computer from what look to be a narrow range of interests:
The al-Qaeda Manual,
The Terrorists Handbook
The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook
How To Win Hand-To-Hand Fighting
The Firearms and RPG Handbook
Dragunov sniper rifle manual
9mm pistol manual
Anti-tank mine manual
(Fascinating reading for a 22 year old woman, isn't it? Do you think her goal was to be the life of the party?)
She was allegedly filling a writing pad full of handwritten notes, which led to one of the charges against her. (Any bets about what those notes were about? Hmmmm... Heathrow... Pakistan... Al Qaeda....)
No doubt there are other aspects of this that we don't know about. As it is, you have to scour several news reports to get this much.
Woman charged in terror investigation
Female terror book suspect in the dock
Airport worker on terror handbook charges is remanded
Woman charged under UK terrorism act
Too many terrorist plots to name, say MI5
Woman charged under anti-terror laws
Now, I very much doubt that she is in trouble simply for having those document in and of themselves. What is likely the case is that it is the combination of what she was doing, involving herself with some sort of terrorist cell, AND having those documents. That is trouble in the same sense that having a crowbar in the garage means you have a crowbar in your garage, whereas having a crowbar in your hands at 3:00 AM in back of somebody's house in the next town over means you have a burglar tool, which will make you subject to heavy penalties.
I doubt that the authorities have much interest in trying to arrest people for simply having those publications. Everything I've seen seems to indicate that their hands are more than full simply trying to cope with the small percentage of people that both have those publications and are trying to use them in attempts to kill large numbers of people. You may also want to keep in mind that the more false signals you generate, the less effective the police will be in tracking down those who are trying to kill you for being, take your pick: an infidel, British
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell