Al-Qaida's Playbook

I found the following article at npr.org:

June 27, 2006 · The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point has translated a 268-page book written by al-Qaida (PDF). The book, written in 2004 by a top al-Qaida insider, is called Management of Savagery. I think it's safe to assume we're the savages. It's a really interesting read. I think it's easier for us to think of al-Qaida operatives as idiots, or at best, misinformed. Well, turns out that's exactly what they think of us. And boy, they don't appreciate our media slogans.

"There is no doubt that the power which God gave to the two superpowers (America and Russia) was overwhelming in the estimation of humans… Yet all of that is not enough... Therefore, the two superpowers must resort to using a deceptive media halo which portrays these powers as non-coercive and world-encompassing, able to reach into every earth and heaven as if they possess the power of the Creator of creation.
"According to the media deception, it is an all-encompassing, overwhelming power and people are subservient to it not only through fear, but also through love because it spreads freedom, justice, equality among humanity, and various other slogans."

I find it fascinating how well they encapsulate the U.S. position. Anybody who may have thought maybe they just weren't hearing the message (I mean, who doesn't want freedom, justice, equality among humanity?) -- well, they heard it. They're just not buying it. The book then goes on to say:

"When a state submits -- whatever the extent of its ability -- to the illusion of the deceptive power and behaves on this basis, that is when its downfall begins. It is just as the American author Paul Kennedy says: 'If America expands the use of its military power and strategically extends more than necessary, this will lead to its downfall.'"

Did some guy in al-Qaida really just quote American author Paul Kennedy in his terrorism treatise? Anyway, the book goes on to say that it's better to fight Americans abroad than to launch new attacks in the United States and it's better to aim for medium-sized operations, not a big one like Sept. 11.

(via The Blotter)
-- Laura Sullivan

Missile Alert

Missile Alert
Report: U.S. activates interceptor defense system
U.S. may intercept or shoot down Taepodong-2 as North Korea prepares for test, paper reports.

North Korea asserts right to missile tests


N Korea defies missile pressure
North Korea declares it has the right to test a long-range missile, reports say, drawing international concern.
Tensions over N Korea missile 'test'
North Korea's missile programme
Timeline: N Korea nuclear crisis

More Parkour

A few days back I did a post on the sport of Parkour. Here is a link to a video that will help you understand Parkour:


Here is the link: Parkour NYC


I can't believe we don't have a Parkour reality show on TV yet :)

Google's top searches

Here is what people are searching for using the Google search engine.

http://currentv.com/google/GC01542

NORTH KOREA UPDATE

North Koreans Said to Be Near a Missile Test


















Here are the latest updates on the North Korea situation:


SET TO TEST LONG-RANGE MISSILE THAT CAN REACH USA

North Korea fuels missile, readies launch, U.S. officials say...


N Korea threatens to 'wipe out' US forces...

Al-Qaeda Cell Planned a Poison-gas Attack

How an Al-Qaeda Cell Planned a Poison-gas Attack on the N.Y. Subway












Al-Qaeda terrorists came within 45 days of attacking the New York subway system with a lethal gas similar to that used in Nazi death camps. They were stopped not by any intelligence breakthrough, but by an order from Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman Zawahiri. And the U.S. learned of the plot from a CIA mole inside al-Qaeda. These are some of the more startling revelations by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Suskind, whose new book The One Percent Doctrine is excerpted in the forthcoming issue of TIME. It will appear on Time.com early Sunday morning.
U.S. intelligence got its first inkling of the plot from the contents of a laptop computer belonging to a Bahraini jihadist captured in Saudi Arabia early in 2003. It contained plans for a gas-dispersal system dubbed "the mubtakkar" (Arabic for inventive). Fearing that al-Qaeda's engineers had achieved the holy grail of terror R&D — a device to effectively distribute hydrogen-cyanide gas, which is deadly when inhaled — the CIA immediately set about building a prototype based on the captured design, which comprised two separate chambers for sodium cyanide and a stable source of hydrogen, such as hydrochloric acid. A seal between the two could be broken by a remote trigger, producing the gas for dispersal. The prototype confirmed their worst fears: "In the world of terrorist weaponry," writes Suskind, "this was the equivalent of splitting the atom. Obtain a few widely available chemicals, and you could construct it with a trip to Home Depot – and then kill everyone in the store."

Here is the link to the rest of the story: CLICK HERE to Read Entire Article
www.time.com


Here is the link to buy the book: One Percent Doctrine at Overstock
















This story will be all over the news in the next 72 hours.

3 Parts of the World to Watch

NORTH KOREA
The U.S. and Japan urge North Korea not to test a long-range missile. Intelligence reports say the North Koreans are pondering just such a launch. But is it just a bluff from the leadership of an isolated nation? Here the story: U.S., Japan Warn Against N. Korean Missile Test










AFGHANISTAN

American, British, Canadian and Afghan forces move to halt rising resistance from Taliban loyalists. Here the story: New Assault Under Way in Afghanistan








SOMALIA
International diplomats confront the reality that miltant Islamists have gained control of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. Fears of a Taliban-like regime are offset by hopes for cooperation from moderate elements of the Islamic Courts Union. Here the story: Sorting Out the Situation in Somalia

AMerican Boy

We read and hear the news reports everday about Iraq, but they really don't affect us in any real way. It just becomes words on a page and a few soundbites on TV.
But seeing what is going on has a way of impacting people. I just found a video that makes the Iraq news real. Here is a description of the video:

The images in this film were taken by soldiers, medical personal, and journalists They had been collected and passed around Iraq, for the purpose of sharing information and documenting the events of the war. The collection of images were given to me by a surgeon for the US, who has been in Iraq for two years, with his request to have them seen, by the public. Do not think of this as a music video! This news footage, that the American public has been stripped of and denied access to, is real! There are thousands of lives being lost because of the white washing of the realities of this invasion, both from the false claims that lead to the invasion, and the manipulation of media since! The audio is created as a narration of a soldier sharing his experience, and asking for help, forgiveness, and understanding! Now, if our leaders would take the same responsibility? We might find a roadmap to actual peace! This POD was updated exactly one year after it was originally completed . Today, 05/31/06 @11:58 PM. The news is worse and the corporate controlled media, and special interest controlled, politicians have gotten no better! Current TV; raise your voice, so the world can see!

Here is the video:
http://www.current.tv/studio/media/1957201

Have you tried Parkour?

So you tried basketball and didn't do so well. Then you tried football and didn't like it. Well, maybe you need to try your hand at a different kind of sport. Why not give Parkour a try? What, you have never heard of it? I would guess that most of the people reading have not either. So, let's do what we do best here - give you as much information as possible.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Parkour (pron. IPA /paʁ.'kuʁ/, often abreviated to PK) is a physical discipline of French origin in which participants attempt to pass obstacles in the fastest and most direct manner possible, using skills such as jumping and climbing, or the more specific parkour moves. The obstacles can be anything in one's environment, so parkour is often seen practiced in urban areas because of many suitable public structures that are accessible to most people, such as buildings, rails and walls.

You read the entire article at:
Parkour - Wikipedia

From Parkour.net

Parkour - an art to help you pass any obstacle; to go from point A to point B using only the possibilities of the human body. This art originated with French soldiers in Vietnam and was developed by David Belle, inspired by his father.

You can listen to a story about Parkour at this link:
Parkour: An Athletic Art Worthy of Spider-Man

Here are a few photos:
































Here are some links for more information:

Web Resources
NY Parkour
American Parkour
Parkour.net
Urban Freeflow

MODESTY

Modesty may be a term you are not familiar with. So lets look at some definitions:

From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Main Entry: mod·es·ty
Pronunciation: 'mä-d&-stE
Function: noun
1 : freedom from conceit or vanity
2 : propriety in dress, speech, or conduct

Here is a link to an article on the subject:
Modesty - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Recently NPR aired a story on the subject of Modesty. Here is the information:
Bill McClay teaches history and humanities at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. But modesty was on his mind when he wrote about that topic in a recent issue of In Character, devoted to the concept of modesty.
You can listen to the story at:
A Modest Little Article on Virtues

North Korea Missile test update

N. Korea denies it's about to test missile
Here is the link to the story:
N. Korea denies it's about to test missile AP


By CHISAKI WATANABE, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 3 minutes ago

The United States and Japan urged North Korea on Saturday not to proceed with reported plans to test-fire a long-range missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. But North Korean officials denied such preparations, the Kyodo News agency reported, citing an unidentified South Korean official.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso met Saturday night amid mounting speculation the North could soon test a Taepodong-2 missile capable of reaching the United States with a light payload.
South Korean media reports said the North had loaded booster rockets onto a launch pad in preparation for the test.
After the meeting, Schieffer reiterated Washington's stance that the test would be a dangerous act that would hurt North Korean interests. The North has been under a self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile tests since 1999.
"We hope that the North Koreans will not take this provocative action. We hope that they will return to the six-party talks," Schieffer said, referring to international talks aiming to get North Korea to give up its nuclear program.
Those talks — involving the United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia — have been stalled by a North Korean boycott.
A launch "will only isolate the North Koreans further from the rest of the international community," he said.
Schieffer said Washington was working with allies on how to respond if North Korea goes ahead with the launch, but he refused to be specific, saying only that "all options are on the table."
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said a North Korean missile launch would violate a moratorium on long-range missile tests declared in 1999 by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
"This would be yet another instance of North Korea violating the international commitments it has made," she said.
Aso told reporters that the situation was "serious" and that North Korea had been warned not to fire the missile. "How we will respond depends on what North Korea does," he said.
Japan has grown increasingly tense as news reports emerge that Pyongyang could soon launch the missile. North Korea fired a missile over northern Japan into the Pacific Ocean in 1998, and the move spurred Tokyo to work with Washington on a missile defense system.
A U.S. government official told The Associated Press on Friday that a test of the Taepodong-2 may be imminent. The Washington official agreed to speak but only on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported Saturday that North Korea also moved about 10 fuel tanks to the launch site in preparation for the test.
It said intelligence authorities from Seoul and Washington had made the assessment, based on satellite images, that the North had loaded booster rockets onto a launch pad and moved the fuel tanks close by. The paper quoted an unidentified high-level South Korean government official.
South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Choo Kyu-ho could not confirm the report.
Japan's conservative Sankei Shimbun, citing government officials it did not name, said the Japanese government had dispatched two Aegis destroyers to the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean. Hidetsugu Iwamasa, a Japanese naval official, said he could not comment on the report, citing security concerns.
North Korea plans to disguise the missile test as an attempt to put a satellite into orbit, Kyodo News agency reported Saturday. Pyongyang has been calculating an orbit for a fake satellite and plans to announce its trajectory after firing the missile, Kyodo reported from Beijing, citing military intelligence officials it did not identify.
North Korea said in 1998 that its launch then was an effort to put a satellite in space, but Washington and Tokyo say that is just a cover for a military program.

Stonehenge: Glacier Theory

A new twist has emerged in the debate over how the large stones that comprise Stonehenge made it to the site. Rather than Bronze Age man transporting the bluestones some 240 miles, a geology team from U.K.'s Open University has found evidence that the boulders were in fact moved to the area by glaciers during the Ice Age. Read more at BBC News.

Here are some links to other stories related to Stonehenge:
Stonehenge quarry site 'revealed'

Welsh 'helped build' Stonehenge 21 Jun 04 South West Wales

BBC Wiltshire: Stonehenge

NORTH KOREA MISSILE TEST UPDATE

I just saw on Fox News that the North Korea goverment is moving ahead with the plan to test the Long Range Missile:

Here are links to the latest news reports I can find:
US warns North Korea against 'provocative' missile test

US warns North Korea against missile "provocation"


Here is another update:


US renews N Korea missile warning
The US steps up warnings to North Korea against testing a new missile, amid fears it may be launched this weekend.

Here are some links to more information that is important to this situation:
Country profile: North Korea

Timeline: Nuclear standoff

Google's Top Searches

If you want to see what people are searching for using Google. Check out the following video clips:
http://www.current.tv/google/GC01499

http://www.current.tv/google/GC01495

http://www.current.tv/google/GC01505

http://www.current.tv/google/GC01517

http://www.current.tv/google/GC01524

http://www.current.tv/google/GC01533

Museum to open Bigfoot Exhibit

If you are looking for somewhere to go for your summer vacation, I have a suggestion for you.
The Idaho Museum of Natural History. They are about to open an Exhibit dedicated to Bigfoot.
Here are some links to the news coverage about this:

Idaho museum to open Bigfoot exhibit

Bigfoot! Museum to Open Exhibit on Mythical Creature

Idaho Museum to Open Bigfoot Exhibit, Idaho Museum Takes a Neutral Position, Opens a Bigfoot Exhibit - CBS News

Idaho museum to open Bigfoot exhibit - Yahoo! News

Here is the link to the Idaho Museum of Natural History:

Welcome to the Idaho Museum of Natural History's Website


Here is a link to an article about the history of the Bigfoot legend.

Wikipedia: Bigfoot

Dubai

Dubai rocks -- you just don't know it yet. Check out the richest city in the world and the surging hip, progressive youth faction that inhabits it.

You can view a video about Dubai here:
VC2 ON AIR: The Dubizzle in Dubai

More Somalia news

A few days ago I did a post on the current situation in Somalia. Here are some links to the latest information:
News - Kenya throws out Somali warlord
A Somali warlord is deported from Kenya, which says it would no longer host those who "destabilise" its neighbour.

News - Is Somalia next for 'war on terror'?
After Islamists take control of Mogadishu, will Somalia be the next stop for the US "war on terror"?

News - Somali president's compound hit
Gunmen attack the compound of Somalia's interim president as the government discusses the recent Islamist victory.

News - Islamist threat to Somali talks
The Islamist leader in Somalia's capital tells the government talks will end if it seeks foreign
peacekeepers

News - Somali Islamists capture key town
An Islamic militia captures the strategic town of Jowhar north of Somalia's capital as MPs ask for peacekeepers.

News - Key US talks on Somali Islamists
The US hosts international talks to discuss the military successes in Somalia of an Islamic militia

News - UN group backs Somalia government
A new UN group on Somalia gives strong backing to its interim government in the wake of Islamist successes.

News - Country profile: Somalia
Key facts, figures and dates

Why the US government has not captured Bin Laden

Have you ever thought about why the United States government has never captured Bin Laden? Why the United States Military has spent so much time and money in Iraq and not for hunting down Bin Laden? If you really want the answers, don't bother to tune in to the main stream news media; you need to look for the latest conspiracy theory website! They always have information no one else does. The answer to all the questions about Bin laden can be answered with this report:

Osama Bin Laden Dead and Buried in 2001

Islamabad - A prominent official in the Afghan Taleban movement announced yesterday the death of Osama bin Laden, the chief of al-Qa'da organization, stating that binLaden suffered serious complications in the lungs and died a natural and quiet death. The official, who asked to remain anonymous, stated to The Observer of Pakistan that he had himself attended the funeral of bin Laden and saw his face prior to burial in Tora Bora 10 days ago. He mentioned that 30 of al-Qa'da fighters attended the burial as well as members of his family and some friends from the Taleban. In the farewell ceremony to his final rest guns were fired in the air. The official stated that it is difficult to pinpoint the burial location of bin Laden because according to the Wahhabi tradition no mark is left by the grave. He stressed that it is unlikely that the American forces would ever uncover any traces of bin Laden. Translation of Funeral Article in Egyptian Paper:al-Wafd, Wednesday, December 26, 2001 Vol 15 No 4633 News of Bin Laden's Deathand Funeral 10 days ago ORIGINALLY

PUBLISHEDhttp://www.welfarestate.com/binladen/funeral/

You can see the story at: Osama bin Scapegoat

Here is more information:

Richard A. Clarke Creates Legend of 9-11 and Osama by CHAIM KUPFERBERG

CIA's Phoniest Home Video (Part 2) by BRASSCHECK.COM

CIA's Phoniest (Funniest) Home Video by CIA VIDEO ANALYST

Did Hollywood Script the Bogus Osama Story? by JARED ISRAEL (tenc.net)

More North Korea missile test news

US warns N Korea on missile test
By Charles Scanlon BBC News, Seoul

The United States has warned it will respond if North Korea goes ahead with a test launch of a new inter-continental ballistic missile.
South Korea also called on the North to halt preparations for a test, saying it would damage regional security.
North Korea last tested a long-range missile in 1998 but it warned last year that it was calling off a self-imposed moratorium on further tests.
The US and Seoul are expressing growing concern about the North's intentions.
The US ambassador to Seoul, Alexander Vershbow, said Washington would respond to a missile test with what he called "appropriate measures".
He told a local radio station that the North's missile technology was a threat to the international community, as well as to north-east Asia.
Diplomats say North Korea has been preparing a possible launch of its new Taepodong 2 missile, which is estimated to have a range of 6,000km (3,500 miles) and to be capable of hitting parts of the United States.
Deadlock
South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon also called on the North to halt its preparations. He said a test would seriously damage efforts to resolve the confrontation over the North's nuclear weapons programme.
The diplomatic process has been stalled since last year, when North Korea pulled out of the talks citing American financial pressure.
North Korea may be using the missile threat to try to break the deadlock. Its demands have been largely ignored while Washington has focused on the nuclear challenge from Iran.
Analysts say North Korea already has enough plutonium for about eight nuclear bombs.
It will be much harder to ignore if it can demonstrate a successful delivery system as well.

Story from BBC: US warns N Korea on missile test

More North Korea information:

NORTH KOREA: SECRET STATE
NUCLEAR TENSIONS

N Korea accord hits first hurdle

Real tests ahead on N Korea deal

Viewpoints: N Korea's pledge

Problems with food

Q&A: N Korea nuclear agreement

Timeline: Nuclear crisis

North Korea Missile test update

Here is the latest information I have found about the North Korea Missile test:

They are going to test a Taepodong-2 multi-stage missile.

You can read about the missile at:
Wikipedia: Taepodong-2

I have found one news source reporting the test:
N. Korea said readying missile test: US officials", Reuters, 2006-06-12. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.

US to hit back if N Korea tests missile: US envoy

The following story was found on www.infowars.com
The site is known for conspiracy theories not hard news. So please look for other sources to confirm the story. If I find more information I will post it as well.

US to hit back if NKorea tests missile: US envoy
AFP June 14 2006
The top US envoy to South Korea said Wednesday that Washington would hit back if North Korea test-fired a missile capable of reaching the United States.Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said Washington was monitoring preparations for a long-range missile test that have reportedly been under way for more than a month at a remote launch pad in northeastern North Korea.
"We can see the preparations but we cannot read their mind as to what they are intending to do," Vershbow said in an interview with state-run KBS radio.
But "since it would be clearly a provocative step vis-a-vis the region and international community, we could not simply let it pass without some response."
He said consultations would take place with partners to the six-party talks with North Korea before a decision would be made on an appropriate response.
On-off talks on ending the North Korea nuclear standoff have brought together the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States since August 2003.
The six partners in the talks would "consider different possible responses, whether they will be political or other kinds of responses," he said.
South Korea's foreign minister urged Pyongyang to abandon plans for the missile test that would have a "negative impact on the international geopolitical situation and the settlement of North Korea's nuclear issue."
"It is appropriate for North Korea to stop preparations for the missile launch and return to six-party talks," Ban Ki-Moon told a weekly media briefing.
A senior South Korean official who declined to be named earlier confirmed reports that North Korea was preparing to test-fire a Taepodong-2 multi-stage missile with a range of more than 6,000 kilometres (3,600 miles) that was capable of hitting the United States.
"Preparations which were reported last month have not stopped," the official said.
Separately a US official was quoted as saying there were "enough indications" to suggest that the Stalinist state was preparing to test-fire the missile.
Ban declined to say how far North Korea's launch preparations had progressed and gave no estimate of when a launch could be ready, but he said South Korea was closely watching developments.
Current test preparations are reportedly far more advanced than on previous occasions when North Korea appeared to be gearing up for a missile launch.
In 1998 the nation shocked the world by launching a Taepodong-1 missile that flew over Japan before crashing into the Pacific.
The 1998 launch triggered jitters in Japan and prompted Tokyo and Washington to accelerate plans to build a missile defense system.
Vershbow said North Korea should abide by a long-range missile moratorium declared by its leader Kim Jong-Il in 1999.
"We really call upon North Korea to abide by the moratorium on flight tests of long range missiles," he said.
"If they were to test a long-range missile now it would be a very serious matter and we will consider it to be very much against the spirit of the September agreement of the six party talks."
North Korea agreed at six-party talks in September to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme in return for economic aid and other benefits.
But in November Pyongyang said it would boycott further talks after Washington imposed financial sanctions for alleged counterfeiting and money laundering.
Some experts say North Korea, aware that launch preparations are easily monitored by US satellite, wants to use the threat of a test-flight to force Washington to roll back the sanctions.
Reports of a possible launch surfaced last month in Japanese and South Korean newspapers. They said US satellite images showed increased movement by trailers and other vehicles near the Musudan-ri missile test site in northeastern North Korea, facing the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
"We really don't know what are the intentions of chairman Kim Jong-Il or any other military leaders in North Korea," said Vershbow.
"But as I said we want them to understand that tests in light of other problems that we have in our relations with North Korea will be viewed as a very serious matter and we will take appropriate measures in response."

How a Man, a Rat and a Spider Learned to Fly

From NPR
You can listen to a report on this story at:
How a Man, a Rat and a Spider Learned to Fly

Dan Barry, retired U.S. astronaut, tells the story of a trip he took into space with a rat.
She was a mother rat, part of a scientific experiment. She was placed in a cage with a litter of her babies and when the space shuttle went into orbit and everyone on board became weightless, Barry kept his eye on the rat, wondering how she would adjust.
Barry, who was on his first trip (he would make two more) says that it took the humans the better part of an Earth day to learn to "fly." He had to push himself off from surfaces. If he pushed too hard, he would crash into the opposite wall.
"You start banging your head into stuff," he remembers, "and everybody after the first day has all these nicks and cuts and bruises."
By day two, he was better. By day three, he was, as he puts it, "great at it." He developed routines. He would start with three somersaults, he says, and then "I'm going to land on my feet, I'm going to push off, do three more somersaults, land on my hands. I mean, you're like a gymnast after just a couple of days."
It's Hard to be a Mother in Space
The rat, meanwhile, spent her first day watching her babies float out of the nest and out of reach. She couldn't propel herself toward them, not on the first day when, as Dan puts it, "she kind of flailed around."
But on day two, she got better, and by day three, like Barry, she had adapted to her weightlessness.
"She had it all figured out," says Barry. When a baby would float free she could ricochet off a surface and "take them by the backs of their necks and throw them back into the nest."
The same ability to learn and adapt was observed among spiders, who, on an earlier mission, struggled on the first day with web-weaving, got better on day two and quite inventive as the days went by.

Ignoring Earth-Based Signals
Barry's wife, Susan, is a neuroscientist. She suggests that what may have happened in all these cases is that the creatures gradually learned to ignore signals coming into their brains from their earth-based balance system, called the vestibular system.
"Up in space," Susan Barry says, "the information coming from the vestibular system is not accurate and your brain learns to ignore it and focus much more on visual information."
Dr. Oliver Sacks, also a neurologist and author of the well-known book Awakenings, agrees with Barry's wife, and goes further.
Barry, he says, had to "renounce" his earthly way of doing things.
That, it appears, is what happened to astronaut Dan Barry. When he got a chance to talk to his Earth-bound family, all he could do, his daughter Jenny recalls, is tell them the new moves, turns and spins he had invented for himself.
But what is on display here -- in Dan Barry, the rat and other creatures -- is the extraordinary adaptability of Earth creatures in space, says Susan Barry.
Apparently, our brains and nervous systems are very, very adaptable. More than we knew.
There is, however, an interesting postscript. When Barry returned to Earth, he had trouble readapting. He tells wild tales about trying to move his clothes, even his son around and forgetting that he was back on Earth. (NASA tells astronaut spouses: When he or she gets back to Earth, don't hand them the baby. Not for the first few days.)
But after his second trip, he got better. After his third, he could become an "earthling" in no time at all. It's kind of like Barry developed two brains, says his wife.
"He's got two ways of being," she says. "One that works fine in space. One that works fine on Earth."

UFO ABDUCTED TOWN'S RESIDENTS

A new book is claiming that all the residents of a small town on the evening of November 9, 1965 were abducted by aliens! The town in question appears to be Grantham. The best I can figure this is a refrence to Grantham a small market town in Lincolnshire, England with about 38,000 inhabitants. Situated on the River Witham, it has the East Coast Main Line (between the stops for Peterborough and Newark Northgate) and the A1 main road from London to Edinburgh running past it (the town was bypassed in 1962). (Wikipedia: Grantham )

You can visit the towns website at:
Grantham Online












The following is from the following links:

Unexplained Mysteries :: New book explores 1965 town abductions

UFO Abducted Town's Residents in 1965

UFO ABDUCTED TOWN'S RESIDENTS IN 1965 SAYS AUTHOR
By Journal editor Nick Woodhead

Were you in Grantham on the evening of November 9, 1965? Yes? Then you were abducted by aliens but inconveniently have had the memory wiped, according to a new book.
Indeed, only a cover-up by the Journal and all the usual Government suspects has prevented the story being told ... until now.
Asylum – The Definitive UFO and Alien Abduction Experience is written by Anthony R. Mallin and claims to be based on the story of a real person, Clive Powers, who as a boy in 1960 was groomed by the aliens when they touched down in Syston five years earlier.When the Grantham landing happened in Green Lane, Powers suffered the torment of abduction while 'drawn' out to the site with his mate.He was sent to Rauceby and thence to an asylum in Croydon where his memory was agonisingly unravelled by a mysterious psychiatrist.It can be difficult to follow what's going on and it's difficult to check as the author claims names have been changed, oddly, to avoid "possible contraventions" of the Official Secrets Act. Perhaps there might have been greater concerns about making enemies from further afield.But there are plenty of place names and so on to tickle the fancy of the Grantham reader, even if you were lucky enough not to get whisked away on that evening 40 years ago.Powers, who seemed to live in both Hamilton Road and Melbourne Road, went to Belton Lane Primary School and St Wulfram's (where some pretty amazing things happened). He worked at Parnell's TV shop and there is, inevitably, a big Ministry of Defence cover-up surrounding RAF Spitalgate and possibly the goings-on at Barkston Heath.But the real villains of the piece are at the Journal. When our intrepid hero is attempting to research what really happened he is met by sinister questions."They wanted to know who we were and where we were from and how to make contact with us. Without thinking twice we agreed to supplying our contact details to them."Looking back that was stupid. Even now we don't actually know who these people were and we immediately realised my quest for the truth was no longer a private matter."Hmmm. Actually that quote has been adjusted, because the author has difficulty knowing when to use full stops and when to start new sentences which adds to the rambling nature of the narrative and the suspicion that he might just be completely barking.But the camera never lies, surely? If you find yourself having a sceptical moment, or if you're struggling to work out just what's going on, you can flick to the end of the book to see the pictures of the aliens.Let me nail my colours to the mast. I say it didn't happen ... but then in my position I would, wouldn't I?














Here is the cover of the book. I cannot find any place that is selling this book in the United States. I checked Amazon and a few other sites. If you know where a person can buy the book let me know and I will post the link.

You think your dog can beat up my cat?

Think Again!!
















Jack, a 15-pound orange-and-white cat, cat sits under a treed black bear in a backyard in West Milford, N.J., Sunday, June 4, 2006. When the bear climbed down, the cat chased it up another nearby tree. Neighbor Suzanne Giovanetti thought Jack was simply looking up at the bear, but soon realized the much larger animal was afraid of the hissing cat. The cat's owners called it away and the bear ran off. (AP Photo/Suzanne Giovanetti)

Mosquito teen repellent

This is a great story! Leave it to teenagers to find a way to use a device that was meant to make them leave and use it for a way to break a rule!

Shopkeepers in the United Kingdom have been using the ultasonic Mosquito teen repellent to stop teenage loitering. But now, teens are using the high-pitch frequency that most adults can't hear as a text message alert while they're in class -- where they're not supposed to be using their cellphones.

You can listen to the story at:
What the Kids Are Listening To

You know it is going to be a bad when...

This would be a bad start of your day!

What to Eat

Everyone talks about eating healthy but doing it is a very different thing! So I am here to help, well kind of. I cannot make you eat anything but I can give you some good information.

Eat less, move more, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and go easy on junk food. These are author and nutritionist Marion Nestle's basic principles for a good diet.
The rules seem easy enough. But as Nestle argues in her book What to Eat, actually following them and making smart decisions about food can be difficult. In part, she says, consumers face the challenges of an "enormous gap" in information -- and a food industry that spends $36 billion a year on marketing.
Nestle explains how manufacturers have turned yogurt from a food that's "pretty healthy" into a dessert, the ethics of marketing to children, and what she would do to make it easier to eat healthy in America.

Book:What to Eat

Author: Marion Nestle

Publisher: North Point Press

Released: 2006
Purchase What to Eat
Amazon

You can listen to a story at:

Nutritionist Tackles Serious Business of 'What to Eat'

Here is some links to stories about food:

June 6, 2006Study Raises New Concerns About Mercury in Tuna

June 5, 2006Eating Out Can Add to Obesity, FDA Report Says

May 18, 2006Experts Make Their Recommendations on Vitamins

May 9, 2006School Heads Hope to Cool a Hot Snack

May 7, 2006Farmers Say Mega-Dairies Milk the Organic System

May 3, 2006School Nutritionist Weighs Juices, Sodas

May 2, 2006Students Learn Their Dietary Lesson

March 26, 2006Making Bacon That's Healthier for You

April 26, 2005New Fast Food Fare Bucks Health Trends

April 21, 2005Health Experts Offer Tips for Grocery Shopping

April 19, 2005Government Unveils Revised Food Pyramid

March 29, 2005A Whopper of a Breakfast

The World's Best Joke!

A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator, in a calm soothing voice says: "Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy's voice comes back on the line. He says: "OK, now what?"

So, do you think the joke is funny? According to Professor Richard Wiseman it is the world's best joke!

Professor Richard Wiseman carried out an internet experiment five years ago to find the world's best gag.
A joke about two US hunters who go into the woods topped the poll after more than 100,000 people around the world cast their vote on 40,000 jokes.
Professor Wiseman said the gag almost certainly originated from a 1951 Goons sketch written by Milligan.

You can read the entire article at:
Spike 'wrote world's best joke'

Does anyone remember Somalia?

Everyone is talking about Iraq and Iran but it seems everyone has forgotten about Somolia. We need to first look back.

It was 1993 and the United states Millitary was about to be involved in what became known as the Battle of Mogadishu:

The Battle of Mogadishu was fought on October 3 and 4, 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia, between forces of the United States (by order of U.S. President Bill Clinton) and Somali guerrilla fighters (loyal to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid). (Wikipedia)















You can read about that battle and the History of Somalia at the following links:

Battle of Mogadishu,

Somalia


Now jump ahead to today: June 10, 2006 · Islamist militia have held Somalia's capital for nearly a week. A U.S.-backed alliance of warlords has failed to hold control in the desperately poor African nation.
What is this going to mean for the War on Terror?
Are we going to have send troops?

you can listen to a report from NPR at:
Somalia Festers as Islamist Militia Advances

A Conspiracy theory and Canada

It all started with the Bilderberg Group deciding to hold their annual meeting in Ottawa, Canda. This group is a famous secret society that is talked about by those who love conspiracy theories. There were already many articles and discussions going on about the meeting, but thanks to the Canadian authorities, the conspiracy theorists will have something to talk about for years. They detained Alex Jones at the Ottawa airport. You can read a Canadian news report on this at Bilderberg-bound filmmaker held at airport . There may be some readers who are not familar with Alex Jones, so let me provide you with some information. Alex Jones is an American radio host and filmmaker. He is most known for questioning the official accounts of the September 11th terrorist attacks. You can read an article about him at: Alex Jones (radio),















This incident has everyone talking, and what is amazing is that even Alex Jones seems to have a different story now then what was first reported by the Canadian press. You can read what Alex Jones is saying at his website: www.infowars.com

To give you a taste of how his website is reporting the story, look at this headline:

Alex Jones Detained on Orders of Bilderberg Group
15 hours of hell at the hands of immigration who knew they were coming


You can listen to their coverage of this incident at the following links:

http://www.nfowars.net:443/stream1.pls

http://www.gcnlive.com/winampfreeNtwk2.m3u

Meteorite Hits Norway

On Wednesday morning, a large meteorite slammed into a Norwegian mountainside with an explosive force comparable to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, according to astronomer Røed Ødegaard. The giant rock, which could be seen streaking across the sky (pictured), is thought to have been "considerably larger" than the 198-pound Alta meteorite that impacted Norway in 1904. Read more at Aftenposten.no.


I cannot find any other news agencies that are reporting this story. I do not know for sure if this story is true. If anyone knows of any links that has more information about this please leave a comment or e-mail me at: tsrk30@sbcglobal.net

A Conspiracy theorist's Woodstock

Nothing gets a conspiracy theory up and running like a secret society. They attempt to operate in the shadows, and people begin to imagine what is happening. Well, a secretive meeting that is going on in Canada has many talking.


Alexander Panetta, Canadian PressPublished: Thursday, June 08, 2006
Secretive mtg. a conspiracy theorist's Woodstock


OTTAWA (CP) - It's like Woodstock for conspiracy theorists.
A serene suburban setting has been transformed into a four-day festival of black suits, black limousines, burly security guards - and suspicions of world domination.
On the outskirts of the nation's capital, a tony high-rise hotel beside a golf course is hosting the annual meeting for one of the world's most secretive and powerful societies.
It's not the Freemasons.
Forget those fabled U.S. military men who tucked away UFOs in the Arizona desert.
These guys, you've probably never even heard of, and if you believe the camera-toting followers who attend all their meetings, they control the world.
They're called the Bilderberg group.
They include European royalty, national leaders, political power-brokers, and heads of the world's biggest companies.
Those who follow the Bilderberg group say it got Europe to adopt a common currency, got Bill Clinton elected after he agreed to support NAFTA, and is spending this week deciding what to do about high oil prices and that pesky fundamentalist president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"Some people say that I advocate a conspiracy theory. That's not true. I recognize a conspiracy fact," said James P. Tucker.
The 74-year-old American journalist has been following the Bilderberg group for decades, has written extensively about it, and recently published his Bilderberg Diary. He follows the group to its annual meetings and stands outside describing to other journalists details of his privileged access to their inner workings.
He is not alone.
Daniel Estulin snapped photographs of every vehicle that approached the concrete-glass complex Thursday. He says Mossad - Israel's spy agency - is paying attention.
Away from the golf course, there are no grassy knolls in the industrial zone outside Ottawa's Brookstreet hotel, the site of this week's meeting, but the scene does nothing to dissuade conspiracists.
Ottawa police officers are standing guard outside a dozen metal gates that serve as security checkpoints a half-kilometre from the hotel.
But Ottawa's finest are clearly not in charge here.
To approach the hotel property, even these uniformed police officers are required to show their credentials to the half-dozen black-suited men working for Globe Risk, a private security firm.
"This is pretty unusual," one Ottawa cop said.
Another said they were hired to be there in their off-duty hours and weren't told much by their superiors: "They just told us, 'These are important people. It's a private meeting.' "
A small crowd of curious onlookers snapped photos of black-windowed sedans stopping at the checkpoints. It was impossible to see who was sitting inside.
But it's fun to imagine.
The Bilderberg group is a half-century-old organization comprising about 130 of the world's wealthiest and most powerful people. The group is named after the Dutch hotel where it held its first meeting in 1954.
End Article---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What do we know about the Bilderberg group? I will point you to the information I could find:
Wikipedia: Bilderberg group

BBC NEWS Magazine Bilderberg: The ultimate conspiracy theory

BBC NEWS World Americas Inside the secretive Bilderberg Group

Incredible Video: Dramatic Dust Storm In Arizona

You have to see the pictures and video of this storm!
The Storm Is Called A "Haboob"

A massive sand storm rolled across the Arizona desert on Tues., blanketing Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson. Check out video footage from CBS 4 News.

You can also use this link:
http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_158102148.html

Musab Al-Zarqawi was a US agent provocateur

It did not take the conspiracy theorist long! While Al-Zarqawis body was still warm the conspiracy web sites were busy posting their view of the news that Al-Zarqawi had been killed. You may be asking what are they saying? Let me help you out:

this was taken from www.infowars.com

Irrefutable evidence confirms that Musab Al-Zarqawi was a US agent provocateur used to both sell the necessity of the war in Iraq and as a patsy to take the fall for numerous suspicious bombings which only had the effect of realizing a long-held US and Israeli goal to deliberately foment civil war in Iraq and break up the country along sectarian lines.

You can read the entire article at:
http://infowars.com/articles/iraq/zarq_jettison.htm


If you would like to see all the evidence that shows Zarqawi was a US agent, then check out the following links:

Is al-Zarqawi a US Agent Provocateur?

Fallujah Sheikh Says Al-Zarqawi Died On Friday

Iraq militants claim al-Zarqawi is dead

Dead Osama Gives Mythical al-Zarqawi a Promotion

Iraqi Group Threatens to Kill Al-Zarqawi

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi reportedly arrested in Iraq

Zarqawi reportedly evacuated from Iraq

US denies reports on Al-Zarqawi capture

Iraq says it nearly captured al-Zarqawi

Saudi Suicide Bomber Claims Zarqawi was Captured, Then Released

Report says U.S. wasted chances for Zarqawi

Al-Qaeda Videos Uploaded From Government Website

US Aiding Zarqawi Terrorists To Prevent Shia Power Base?

Iraqi Resistance Rejects Alleged Bin Laden, Zarqawi Alliance

American's bogus beheading video dupes international media

Related: Staged beheading of Nick Berg

YouTube Videos

the following is from npr.org:

· In just six months, YouTube boomed from a startup viral video site to a Web phenomenon, a virtual library of cultural highlights and amateur video clips uploaded by anybody with a digital camcorder and some time to burn.
Users upload 50,000 videos a day, at last count, and visitors watch 50 million clips per day. Not bad for a company with 26 employees and an office over a pizza parlor.
The site is funded by venture capitalists. Despite its enormous popularity, it remains to be seen how YouTube will make money.

Guests discuss the future of YouTube: Is it free publicity -- or copyright infringement?
Guests:
Thomas Goetz, deputy editor of Wired magazine
Mike Miliard, staff writer for the Boston Phoenix
Paul Kedrosky, writes the

You can listen to the discussion at:

The Rise of Viral Video -- and YouTube

I am posting the links so people can see what this site has to offer. I am in no way endorsing all the content.

Note: Some YouTube posts use language that might be considered objectionable.

The home page is: WWW.YOUTUBE.COM

You can see videos at the following links:

Star Trek Cribs

Don Rickles Roasted on The Dean Martin Show

Trailer Parody of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining

Crispin Glover on Letterman

Hip-Hop Highlight -- Newcleus: 'Jam On It'

Intro to The Muppet Show

WORLD REACTION

The BBC compiled qoutes from around the world on reaction to the death of Al-Zarqawi:

Here they are:

World leaders and other figures react to news that militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed in an air raid north of Baghdad.

US PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH
"The ideology of terror has lost one of its most visible and aggressive leaders. Zarqawi's death is a severe blow to al-Qaeda. It's a victory in the global war on terror...
"The difficult and necessary mission in Iraq continues. We can expect the terrorists and insurgents to carry on without him. We can expect the sectarian violence to continue."

UK PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR
"The death of Zarqawi is a strike against al-Qaeda in Iraq and therefore a strike against al-Qaeda everywhere but we should have no illusions.
"We know that they will continue to kill, we know that there are many, many obstacles to overcome."

AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER JOHN HOWARD
"The reported death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is great news for the people of Iraq, the real victims of his murderous behaviour. Not only does his death remove a cruel terrorist, but it's also a huge boost for anti-terrorist forces in Iraq."

AFGHAN PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI
"Zarqawi's death is not the end of terrorism in the world, but a significant step in ridding the world of the menace of terrorism.
"This success should encourage us all, both in the Muslim world and beyond, to continue and step up our common fight against terrorism."

STATEMENT ON WEBSITE USED BY AL-QAEDA
"We announce the martyr death of our sheikh, fighter Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
"[His death will] only reinforce our determination to pursue jihad so that the word of Allah gains the upper hand."

STAN BIGLEY, BROTHER OF KEN BIGLEY, BRITISH HOSTAGE KILLED IN IRAQ
"I'm glad he's off the face of the earth, not just for my brother but for all the people he has killed. "Ken was just one of a multitude of innocent people killed by that man. He was a monster."

MICHAEL BERG, FATHER OF NICK BERG, A US CITIZEN SAID TO HAVE BEEN KILLED BY ZARQAWI IN IRAQ
"I have no sense of relief, just sadness that another human being had to die.
"As the poet John Donne said, any man's death diminishes me. It doesn't bring my son back, and this will just bring a new cycle of revenge killings."

US AMBASSADOR IN IRAQ ZALMAY KHALILZAD
"The death of Abu Musab Zarqawi marks a great success for Iraq and the global war on terror. Zarqawi was the godfather of sectarian killing and terror in Iraq. Zarqawi's death will not by itself end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important step in the right direction. It is a good omen for Iraq and for Prime Minister's Maliki's new government."

IRAQI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER BARHAM SALIH
"This is a very important victory for the people of Iraq. He was the evil of terrorism. He was responsible for the deaths of many people in Iraq. Having him killed is a very important achievement for us. We are strongly determined to root out the remaining al-Qaeda people. This is a serious blow to terrorism. We hope that terrorism in Iraq will be over."

IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER HOSHYAR ZEBARI
"This is a happy day for the people of Iraq, and for me personally, because Zarqawi was one of the most-wanted terrorists who terrorised Iraqi people over the last three years, and this is a major step towards fighting the remnants of these terrorist groups who are operating, and really this is a good day for the new government."

ZARQAWI'S OLDER BROTHER, AHMED FADHIL NAZZAL AL-KHALAYLEH
"We anticipated that he would be killed for a very long time. We expected that he would be martyred. We hope that he will join other martyrs in heaven."

ISRAELI OPPOSITION LEADER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU
"Everyone who wants a better world, free of murderous, crazed terrorism needs to welcome the elimination of Zarqawi."

UK'S FORMER SPECIAL ENVOY TO IRAQ SIR JEREMY GREENSTOCK
"I think it's comparable with the capture of Saddam Hussein for significance, I think it's a necessary, though not sufficient condition for the improvement in the security situation in Iraq. I think it's true that the attacks by jihadists, by non-Iraqi terrorists in Iraq, will not stop, indeed there may be a minor increase as his team try to react to his capture and death or whatever happened."

FINALLY SOME GOOD NEWS IN IRAQ

NPR.org, June 8, 2006
· BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida's leader in Iraq who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and kidnappings, has been killed in an air strike, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday, adding that his identity was confirmed by fingerprints and a look at his face. It was a major victory in the U.S.-led war in Iraq and the broader war on terror.







You will hear about this from every News agency in the world. This story will also be reported on thousands of blogs. I cannot add much to the story. What I can do is provide links to give you the history behind the man. This may help people gain a greater understanding of who he was and why this story is so important.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - Wikipedia

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi killed in airstrike

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - BBC News Profile


Jun. 8, 2006 Zarqawi Leaves Bloody Legacy in Iraq, Beyond

The history of Al Zarqawi

Nov. 13, 2005 Al Zarqawi and Al-Qaida's Next Generation

Oct. 18, 2004 Zarqawi Said to Pledge Allegiance to al Qaeda

A Profile of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

The Iraqi View of Zarqawi