Gitmobooks: Blog about Guantanamo Prison Library Books
Charlie Savage schreibt für die New York Times über Guantanamo, als „Nebenprodukt“ seiner Arbeit hat er nun das Fotoblog Gitmobooks über die Gefängnisbibliothek und die Bücher dort angelegt: Captain America, Harry Potter und The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook.
As part of Savage’s reporting on Gitmo, he has also created a photo blog that gives us insight into the prison library and its odd collection of books. The library offers prisoners access to Captain America comics (that must go over well with enemy combatants); pulp romance books by Danielle Steele (another choice pick for Islamists); the complete Harry Potter series (I imagine the Prisoner of Azkaban volume hits home); some more serious works by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien and Charles Dickens; an assortment of religious books; and the occasional self help book like The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook.
Open Culture: The Odd Collection of Books in the Guantanamo Prison Library
The global War on Magic
Großartiges Webcomic von Darren Cullen: Der Krieg gegen den Terror remixed mit… Zauberern! Der zweite Teil nach dem Klick: Gib mir den Rest, Baby…
Super Mario Coin Block gets a Bomb Squad
In Tempe, Arizona, haben Anwohner wegen eines Supermario Coin Blocks die Polizei gerufen, und die kam auch prompt mitsamt Bombenräumkommando an. Ist dann aber auch wieder ziemlich verständlich, in diesen Tagen. Praktisch genau das gleiche ist übrigens vor fünf Jahren schonmal passiert.
A mysterious box familiar to players of Nintendo’s Super Mario games appeared on a residential street in Tempe, Ariz. last week, prompting local police and fire officials to cordon off the area as they searched the package.
Residents of the area discovered the box (pictured above) and contacted local authorities, who sent fire and police officers — including a bomb squad — to the scene to investigate.
Mario-themed box appears on an Arizona street, prompting bomb squad inquiry
Vorher auf Nerdcore:
OMG! Real Life Super Mario-Blocks! Call the Bomb Squad!
It’s a Suicide Bombing full of Wurst
Bombenalarm wegen Monty Pythons heiliger Handgranate
Kermit der Frosch löst Bombenalarm aus
Elvis-Impersonator arrested for Ricin-Letters to Obama:
In Tennessee haben sie einen Elvis-Imitator wegen der Gift-Briefe an Obama festgenommen: Paul Kevin Curtis, Miss. man, arrested in ricin-tainted letter case: „Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, [who impersonated Elvis and numerous other singers,] believed he uncovered a conspiracy to sell human body parts on the black market and claimed ‘various parties within the government’ were trying to ruin his reputation. He was arrested at his home in Corinth, near the Tennessee state line.“
Boston
Youtube Direktrun, via Digg
Die umfassendste Berichterstattung zu den Explosionen in Boston findet man wohl auf Reddit (Thread 1, 2, 3, 4) und natürlich auf Boston.com, oben ein Video aus der Perspektive eines der Läufer (Lautstärke runterdrehen). Mittlerweile geht man von Terroranschlägen aus, das Wall Street Journal hatte gestern Nacht fünf weitere, nicht explodierte Sprengsätze gemeldet. Hier zwei Info-Bits, die mir für die Anschläge relevant erscheinen:
The Atlantic Wire: The Boston Marathon’s Final Mile Was Dedicated to Newtown Victims: „Newtown families were reportedly seated in the VIP section right by where the explosions went off.“
Political Violence (hervorragendes, sehr zurückgelehntes Blog über politisch motivierte Gewalt von Politik-Wissenschaftlern): Terror in Boston:
The most probable story relates to the timing. April 19, 1985 — federal agents arrested the leaders of the Covenant, Sword, and the Arm of the Lord, an extremist group in Arkansas. April 19, 1993 — federal agents chose to lay siege to the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. April 19, 1995 — Timothy McVeigh bombed the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. All three of these events dealt with gun rights and federal agencies confronting groups with extreme beliefs on the issue.
It is Tax Day and Patriot Day, a celebration of the first shots fired in the Revolutionary War. Controversial gun legislation is currently being debated in Congress.
Terror Suspect Lockdown Interieur-Study
Edmund Clark fotografiert Einrichtungen in Guantanamo und dokumentiert „Kolateralschäden“ im Krieg gegen den Terror. Sein jüngstes Projekt „Control Order House“ ist eine „top-to-bottom survey of a three-bedroomed residence in which a pre-trial, UK terror suspect lives under house arrest“.
Control Order House is the only existing photographic study of a residence occupied by a person under a UK control order. It is not an exposé, however. Given the legal sensitivities, every image was vetted by UK government officials. Clark was not allowed to reveal the identity of the terror suspect — referred to in legal documents as “CE” — nor his location.
“To reveal CE’s identity would be an offence and in breach of the court-imposed anonymity order,” says Clark. “All the photographs I took or the documents I wanted to use had to be screened by the Home Office.”
Strategically, Clark has decided to release Control House Order as a book. In addition to redacted legal documents, handwritten notes from CE and architectural plans of the house, the book reproduces contact sheets of all 500+ images made in the house and presents them in the order they were made.
This Incredibly Boring House Is a U.K. Terror Suspect’s Lockdown
Gitmo is killing me:
Gitmo is killing me: „I’ve been detained at Guantánamo for 11 years and three months. I have never been charged with any crime. I have never received a trial.“
Star Wars for Truthers: Lukes Change – An Inside Job
Youtube Direktdeathstar, via Boing Boing
Schöne Parodie auf die Truther-„Doku“ „Loose Change“:
An examination of some questionable events and circumstances leading up to the destruction of the Death Star, through the eyes of an amateur investigative journalist within the Star Wars galaxy. The focus is mainly on the connections between the people who created and operated the Death Star and those responsible for destroying it.
Jihad Rapper ripps of MC-Mujahideen
Ein amerikanisches Mitglied und Rapper der al-Qaida nahestehenden al-Shabab Mudschahidin-Bewegung wird von seinen ehemaligen Kollegen beschuldigt, seine Reime nicht selbst geschrieben zu haben und vom einem anderen amerikanischen Mudschahidin abgerippt zu haben. Wenn sich al-Qaida jetzt wegen Geistigem Eigentum rumstreitet, dann ist die Welt wieder in Ordnung.
Omar Hammami, or Abu Mansour al-Amriki, is one of the highest-profile Americans to ever join an al-Qaida affiliate. He quickly established himself as a unique sort of English-language propagandist for Somalia’s al-Shabab. “Land by land / and war by war / only gonna make our black flag soar / drip by drip / shot by shot / only gonna give us the death we sought,” he rapped in 2009. […] But last year, Hammami had an abrupt falling out with al-Shabab. He recorded a YouTube clip in March warning that his “life may be in danger” by his former allies. […]
“Worth noting here also is that the Jihadi rap Nasheeds, ‘Send Me A Cruise’ and ‘Make Jihad With Me,’ that are often erroneously attributed to Abu Mansur are the work of another Muhajir — another American Mujahid — but, of course, Abu Mansur would never say otherwise since the Nasheeds ‘perfect’ and complement his projected self-image,” Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir wrote.
Rapping Terrorist Accused of Not Writing His Own Jihadi Rhymes
Linux Installation as Terrorism
Ein paar fiese Hacker und Vandalen sind in das Büro des republikanischen Politikers Michael Grimm eingebrochen und haben auf seinem Rechner Linux installiert. Die Polizei und Grimm stufen die Installation als terroristischen Akt ein.
Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm is calling vandalism and the erasure of computer drives at his Republican campaign headquarters over the weekend a “politically motivated” crime.
“Whoever did this, the people responsible are very ignorant, and they don’t understand that this is not just an attack against me or my campaign,” Grimm, a freshman, told the Staten Island Advance. “This is an attack against a federal campaign office, which is an attack on our democracy as a whole. It’s an attack against what we stand for, for free elections.” […]
Linux, an open-source operating system, was installed on Grimm’s computers, erasing the hard drive contents, which included polling and voter identification data.
Anti-Terrorism-Training with the Walking Dead
Während einem Anti-Terror-Training für Militär und Polizei Ende Oktober werden Soldaten unter anderem eine Zombie-Apocalypse bekämpfen. Auf die Idee kamen sie, nachdem das CDC einen „offiziellen“ Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide veröffentlichte.
First responders and law enforcement will be fighting off zombies next month in a training exercise that will rival any Hollywood movie. The good guys will be fighting off zombies that look like they came right out of the “Walking Dead,” claims Brad Barker, the president of the organization hosting this training. The Counter-Terrorism Summit in San Diego next month is putting a spin on the exercises like never seen before.
Barker said the zombies throw a whimsical spin on this very well-respected training exercise. The event is hosted by the security firm of HALO Corp. The mock terrorism scenario is to include people dressed up like zombies who will test the readiness of first responders and law enforcement to a large-scale crisis.
Zombies to attack first responders in real-life ‘Walking Dead’ training (via Horror Movies)
Terrorism Coloring Book featuring Julian Assange
Der amerikanische Kinderbuchverlag Big Coloring Books Inc. aus St. Louis hat ein Terrorismus-Malbuch für Kids rausgebracht, ein „teaching and learning tool that’s rated PG-13“. Darin finden sich jede Menge militärischer Vehikel und Portraits bekannter Diktatoren zum Ausmalen, ein Auszug einer Befragung des Chefs der Homeland Security durch Michele Bachman über die Muslim Brotherhood sowie eine reihe farbiger Sammelkarten mit bekannten Terroristen vom UNA-Bomber, den Beltway Snipern, den Attentätern vom 11. September und… Julian Assange. Von Yahoo:
“We don’t take a position on the books we publish. It would be very difficult for us to do that,” Bells says. “We publish books based on readership, just like many publishers around the world. Our company is not on a soap box for anything, period. Zero,” he adds. “We publish books that readers buy.”
Yeah, right. Indoktrination durch die amerikanische Rechte zum Ausmalen. Idiots.
On the table of contents page kids are urged to “share the information in this book with your friends, neighbors, teachers, educators, religious leaders.” They’re also cautioned to get their parents’ permission before taking the book to school “to share with friends.” It’s the type of book that people have to judge by its content, not its cover, Bell explains.
“A lot of people simply love the book because it’s not politically correct, and they’re not teaching the history of terrorism in schools today,” he says. “This book has nothing to do with the Muslim faith. It has nothing to do with Islam. It just so happens that a lot of the high-profile terrorists happen to be radical Islamic jihadists.” […]
“Why trading cards? It’s kind of interesting,” he says. “It’s kind of like when the U.S. government made USA playing cards with terrorists on the playing cards, from the Ace of Spades down to the Deuce of Hearts. It’s just another feature in the book that’s pretty unique in that it explains terrorists and terrorism.”
“It’s unique in the fact that we try to name them and shame them, the actual faces of evil,” he adds.
New 9/11 Coloring Book Features Terrorist Trading Cards (via Hacker News)
Vorher auf Nerdcore:
Julian Assange Coloring Book
Heavy Metal Cöloring Book
Police Brutality Coloring Book
Lowrider Coloring Book
Dune Coloring-Book
Trolling Terrorism
Neueste Antiterrorstrategie des Pentagon: Trolling. Kein Scherz. Cyberwar pawns Terrorism, oder so.
Within the State Department, a Silicon Valley veteran has quietly launched an improbable new initiative to annoy, frustrate and humiliate denizens of online extremist forums. […]
The program, called Viral Peace, seeks to occupy the virtual space that extremists fill, one thread or Twitter exchange at a time. Shahed Amanullah, a senior technology adviser to the State Department and Viral Peace’s creator, tells Danger Room he wants to use “logic, humor, satire, [and] religious arguments, not just to confront [extremists], but to undermine and demoralize them.” Think of it as strategic trolling, in pursuit of geopolitical pwnage.
Gunmen burn Microsofts Offices in Greece
Ein paar bewaffnete Männer haben in Athen einen mit Benzin beladenen Van ins Bürogebäude von Microsoft gefahren und angezündet, verletzt wurde keiner. Ich tippe auf Apple-Fanboys, die sich wegen der Eurokrise keine iPads mehr leisten können.
Three attackers drove a van through the front of Microsoft’s offices just north of Athens on Wednesday, marched out security guards at gunpoint, and tried to burn the building to the ground.
It’s unclear who is behind the attack, but it’s a worrying sign for foreign multinational corporations, coming as Greece struggles under the weight of a collapsing economy.
The attack happened during the very early hours of Wednesday morning, before staffers had shown up for work. The assailants “drove a van through the entrance to the building, ushered the two security personnel out of the building and then set the van on fire,” a Microsoft spokesman said Wednesday.
Salman Rushdie Fatwa – The Videogame
Die Fatwa von Ayatollah Khomeini gegen Salman Rushdie und dessen Satanische Verse wird von einer staatlichen iranischen Studenten-Organisation grade in ein Videogame versoftet. Is’ nicht einfach, drei kurze, unsortierte Gedanken dazu: 1. Wenn die USA Osama-Abschussgames produzieren können, dann soll der Iran auch Fatwa-Games machen. 2. Ein polemisches Buch über die Auswüchse des Islam hat dann natürlich doch nochmal eine andere „Qualität“ als die Verbrechen einiger Terroristen und 3. Oh, can you please be more boring? Ein Game über die Verhängung einer 20 Jahre alte Fatwa?! Yawn.
Salman Rushdie was the target of a notorious fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic of Iran, 23 years ago. Now, the author of The Satanic Verses is the subject of an Iranian computer game aimed at spreading to the next generation the message about his “sin”.
The Stressful Life of Salman Rushdie and Implementation of his Verdict is the title of the game being developed by the Islamic Association of Students, a government-sponsored organisation which announced this week it had completed initial phases of production.
