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27. april 2006
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Terrorists have been busy lately, both on the bombing front and in media propaganda. The head-to-head releases of tapes from Osama bin Laden and Zarqawi are unprecedented. It is probably a coincidence that it happened at the same time as the new Sinai bombing, but I would think the propaganda effort itself is coordinated. Douglas Farah comments:
What is interesting about the new bin Laden and Zarqawi tapes, besides some of the analysis done by my colleagues on the Counterterrorism blog, is the fact that al Qaeda has grown increasingly adept at getting its propaganda videos quickly enough to be relevant to current events. This is new, and shows increased capacity and increased interest in keeping their message out in front, even it it may hint at internal problems.
He rejects, correctly I think, the claim that these propaganda efforts demonstrate a decline and desperation in al-Qaeda.
The instant dismissal of the appearances by some in government, saying they are displays of desperation or a lack of cohesion, is wrong and dangerous. It shows, more than anything else, the enemy has a functioning propganda arm that is effective and extremely active. By simply showing up on the website or on al Jazeera, bin Laden, Zarqawi and other terrorist leaders powerfully remind people they still are there, still fighting and still able to show their faces.
Undoubtedly, the videos and tapes from these monsters will find their way into radical Mosques all around Europe.
The west is unfortunately lacking a good response to the extremist message.
10:41:11 PM 
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Forget bird flu. There's an ongoing pandemic of dumb criminals! In Italy:
A shoplifter took a very wrong turn -- toward Rome's police headquarters -- while fleeing a supermarket with two stolen bottles of alcohol.
Hearing screams of "Stop thief!," heavily armed police just outside the building grabbed the 19-year-old, a police spokeswoman said Thursday.
Stunned, the crook immediately confessed and handed over the liquor.
San Francisco criminals escape in style, but very temporarily:
San Francisco police arrested a man and woman suspected of robbing a bank and fleeing in style by using a limousine as their getaway car, officials said on Wednesday.
Roy Westry and Cynthia Johnson, both recent parolees in their 40s, were pulled over on Tuesday afternoon by police officers alerted to a nearby bank robbery involving a 2006 Cadillac limousine. The vehicle belong to Westry's employer.
San Francisco Police Department inspector Dan Gardner commented, "I've been doing this job a long time and nothing surprises me any more."
I think Knox County Criminal Court Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz thinks much of the same. Teenager Aaron K. Lawless had been able to get away with a six-month sentence for involvement in a drive-by shooting as a reward for testifying for the prosecution. Well, he blew it in style. A letter to a friend was intercepted, where Aaron asked a friend who was on probation to take over his dayjob, that is, "pushing some weed." The judge changed the sentence to eight years.
Sometimes, stupidity is a felony.
From Germany, we learn that sometimes a police officer makes a bad criminal.
A German policeman was nabbed for a bank robbery after he used his girlfriend's car for the heist, authorities said on Thursday.
By using his girlfriend's car, he "might as well have left his business card, it was really stupid," said Horst Roos, spokesman for state prosecutors in the western city of Trier.
His collegues recognised him from video footage from the crime scene, and picked him up.
Links: The ever popular series about stupid criminals.
10:32:22 PM
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Kadima and Labour has reached a coalition agreement:
The Kadima and Labor parties have finalized a coalition agreement that is set to be signed at 7:30 P.M. Thursday, a Kadima spokesperson said earlier in the day.
According to the agreement, Labor will have seven ministerial positions - including defense, education, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism and two ministers without portfolio.
It appears Shas is also on track to join the new coalition, securing Ehud Olmert a solid base in the Knesset. If anything including Shas can be called solid...
6:12:09 PM
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Rice and Rumsfeld express confidence in the new Iraqi prime minister designate.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld concluded a one-day visit to Iraq this morning with a declaration of confidence in the prime minister designate, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, as someone eager to re-establish public confidence in the government and rid the country's security forces of infiltration by sectarian militias.
"We are prepared to do whatever we can to help the Iraqi government meet the challenges before them," Ms. Rice told reporters at a brief press conference with Mr. Rumsfeld. "It is obviously going to take some time to do this work."
No kidding.
I don't know much about Mr Maliki, but I have this nagging fear that he will do things that make Rice and Rumsfeld regret this vote of confidence. Then again, they don't have much choice but putting a bold face on it. After the US helped bring about the sacking of former PM-to-be Ibrahim al-Jaafari, believed to be too cozy with Shia militias, it wouldn't look much like Iraq had an elected and independent government if the US also objected to his successor. Even if Maliki is from the same party, and is pretty close to Jaafari.
5:41:32 PM
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© Copyright 2006 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.05.2006; 13:05:30.
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