--Shahzad Faisal Patsy & Car Dud FF needed to keep the Afghanistan Opium moving

[Dig]

More from timeline above:

Early 2005: US Documents Implicate Afghan Leader’s Brother and Other Top Officials in Drug Trade 
Ahmed Wali Karzai. [Source: ABC News]According to classified files stolen from a US army base in Afghanistan and sold in a local market, some senior officials in the Afghan government are also believed to be drug lords. Described as “Tier One Warlords” in a document, they include Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, the Chief of Staff of the army, and Gen. Mohammad Daud, the Interior Minister for Counternarcotics (see April 17, 2006). Further, Ahmed Wali Karzai, brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, is listed in a classified document as a “problem maker” who “receives money from drug lords as bribe[s ] to facilitate their work and movement.” [Independent, 4/13/2006; ABC News, 6/22/2006; Associated Press, 6/23/2006] In early 2006, Newsweek will report that the president’s brother is “alleged to be a major figure by nearly every source who described the Afghan network… including past and present government officials and several minor drug traffickers.” One Interior Ministry official says, “He is the unofficial regional governor of southern Afghanistan and leads the whole trafficking structure.” Newsweek adds that, “Diplomats and well-informed Afghans believe that up to a quarter of the new Parliament’s 249 elected members are linked to narcotics production and trafficking.” [Newsweek, 1/2/2006]
Entity Tags: Abdul Rashid Dostum, Ahmed Wali Karzai, Mohammad Daud
Category Tags: Afghanistan, Drugs
 

Spring 2005: Taliban’s Top Drug Kingpin Turns Himself In to US  Haji Bashir Noorzai, reputedly Afghanistan’s biggest drug kingpin with ties to the Taliban and al-Qaeda, had been arrested and then released by the US in late 2001 (see Late 2001), and then ignored when he wanted to make a deal with US in 2004 (see Autumn 2004). In spring 2005, the US again contacts him and offers a deal. Author James Risen explains, “The Americans asked Noorzai to come to the United States to negotiate a deal, and to the astonishment of nearly everyone involved in the case, he agreed. Noorzai flew on a regular commercial flight to New York, where he was met by federal agents. The Bush administration was so startled that he had actually agreed to come to the United States that it was not quite sure what to do with him.” Secret talks are held in New York City, resulting in Noorzai being indicted in April 2005. “By the summer of 2005, Noorzai was in jail and was talking, but questions remained about whether the Bush administration really wanted to hear what he had to say, particularly about the involvement of powerful Afghans and Pakistanis in the heroin trade.” [BBC, 4/26/2005; Risen, 2006, pp. 152-162]
Entity Tags: Haji Bashir Noorzai
Category Tags: Drugs, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the ISI, Key Captures and Deaths
 
March 3, 2005: State Department Says Afghanistan Is on Verge of Becoming a Narcotics State  A State Department report on world drug production suggests that, as the Associated Press puts it, “Afghanistan has been unable to contain opium poppy production and is on the verge of becoming a narcotics state.” The area in Afghanistan devoted to poppy cultivation (the raw material for opium and heroin) in 2004 more than tripled the figure for 2003. The report suggests this situation “represents an enormous threat to world stability.” [Associated Press, 3/4/2005] Drug eradication efforts have been almost completely ineffectual. For instance, in May 2005 it will be reported that Afghanistan’s US-trained Central Poppy Eradication Force has destroyed less than 250 acres, well short of its original goal of 37,000 acres. [New York Times, 5/22/2005] The drug economy now accounts for between a third and half of the country’s economic output. The World Bank estimates that opium cultivation can generate at least 12 times as much income as alternative crops. [Slate, 5/18/2005]
Entity Tags: US Department of State, World Bank
Category Tags: Afghanistan, Drugs
 
(March 2006): Former US Security Officer Alleges that US Abandoned Counterterrorism Investigation because of Potential Connection to ISI  Sam Karmilowicz, a former security officer at the US embassy in Manila, suggests in an interview with CounterPunch magazine, that US intelligence may have failed to properly follow leads in a counterterrorism case because of a potential link to Pakistani intelligence. In September 1994, Karmilowicz allegedly received information that a Pakistani businessman with possible ties to the ISI was part of a plot to assassinate President Clinton during his November 1994 visit to Manila (see September 18-November 14, 1994). An interagency US security team that was tasked with investigating the tip ended its investigation after only a few weeks. “My experience in the Philippines shows the US government has compartmentalized information… in order to cover-up its gross incompetence or its complicity in illegal and questionable activities conducted by, or against, foreign powers,” Karmilowicz says. [CounterPunch, 3/9/2006]
Entity Tags: Sam Karmilowicz, US intelligence
Category Tags: Drugs, 1995 Bojinka Plot, Drugs, 1995 Bojinka Plot, Pakistan and the ISI, Drugs, Philippine Militant Collusion, Al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia
 
April 17, 2006: Afghan’s Anti-Drug Official Said to Be Drug Kingpin 
Mohammad Daud. [Source: Dieter Nagl / AFP / Getty Images]Interior Minister for Counternarcotics Gen. Mohammad Daud is the top counter-narcotics official in the Afghan government, but it is reported on this day that there are allegations Daud is simultaneously a drug kingpin. One anonymous senior drug official from an unnamed country says, “He frustrates counternarcotics law enforcement when it suits him. He moves competent officials from their jobs, locks cases up and generally ensures that nobody he is associated with will get arrested for drug crimes.” Daud denies the allegations. Additionally, there are allegations that some provincial governors, cabinet ministers, and even the president’s own brother are involved in the drug trade. Although there are several dozen prominent major drug traffickers in the country, only two have been arrested and held since 9/11. [San Francisco Chronicle, 4/17/2006] Daud’s name also appears on a classified document from a US military base listing known Afghan drug kingpins (see Early 2005).
Entity Tags: Mohammad Daud
Category Tags: Drugs, Afghanistan
 

September 2, 2006: Afghanistan’s Opium Production Hits Record Levels Again 
Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan by province, 2005. Based on satellite surveys and other analysis by the UN. Redder provinces produce more. [Source: UNODC/MCN] (click image to enlarge)The United Nations says Afghanistan’s latest opium harvest is the biggest ever. The harvest was 6,100 metric tons (enough for 610 tons of heroin), an increase of nearly 50 percent from the year before. This is 92 percent of the world total and 30 percent more than global consumption. Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN’s drug office, says, “It is indeed very bad, you can say it is out of control.” He says the Taliban have profited from the drug trade, and they promise protection to growers who expand their operations. 400,000 acres were planted with poppies in 2006; about ten percent of these poppy fields were destroyed by the Afghan government’s eradication program. About five percent was destroyed in the previous year. [New York Times, 9/2/2006; Associated Press, 9/3/2006]
Entity Tags: Antonio Maria Costa, United Nations
Category Tags: Drugs, Afghanistan
 

September 21, 2006: NATO Commander Says Taliban and Al-Qaeda Increasing Profits from Drugs in Afghanistan  NATO Commander Gen. James L. Jones, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, says that the Taliban and al-Qaeda continue to profit from the sale of opium in Afghanistan. He says: “We’re losing ground. It affects the insurgency because there’s increasing evidence that a lot of funding goes from the narcotics traffickers to the criminal elements, to what’s left of al-Qaeda, to the Taliban and anyone else that wants to create mischief.” [ABC News, 9/21/2006]
Entity Tags: Taliban, Al-Qaeda, James L. Jones
Category Tags: Drugs, Afghanistan
 
March 6, 2008: US Agents Arrest Al-Qaeda-Linked Arms Dealer Victor Bout in Thailand 
Victor Bout in handcuffs in Thailand on the day of his arrest. [Source: Associated Press]Victor Bout, the world’s biggest illegal arms dealer, is arrested in Thailand. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had set up a sting operation to nab Bout. For months, DEA agents posed as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a militant group linked to drug trafficking and organized crime. DEA agents and Thai police meet Bout at the five-star Sofitel Silom Hotel in Bangkok, supposedly to finalize an arms deal, and immediately arrest him and his bodyguards. According to a Thai police officer, Bout does not resist arrest but merely says, “The game is over.” A relatively new DEA task force is behind Bout’s arrest, even as news reports indicate Bout’s fleet of aircraft has been shipping supplies to the US military in Iraq in recent years. The DEA agents posed as arms dealers working for FARC but went after Bout because of evidence that he had been involved in drug smuggling as well. Bout faces up to 10 years in prison in Thailand for taking part in illegal weapons deals there. US officials are also seeking Bout’s extradition to the US so he can face more charges. Bout is a Russian citizen and has been based in Russia in recent years, but the Russian government has decided against seeking his extradition. Mother Jones comments, “Willing to work for anyone, Bout’s business divorced itself from any political, philosophical, or moral constraint. It delivered military cargo with equal enthusiasm to terrorists, guerrilla insurgents, rebel warlords, embattled dictatorships, legitimate businesses, humanitarian aid groups, and sovereign governments, including the United States” (see Late April 2003-2007). He also worked with the Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked groups (see Summer 2002 and Late July 2006). Experts note that Bout’s network has been unique in providing a full range of smuggling services and it is unlikely it will survive without him. [Mother Jones, 3/16/2006]
Entity Tags: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Drug Enforcement Administration, Victor Bout
Category Tags: Victor Bout, Drugs, Key Captures and Deaths, Counterterrorism Action After 9/11

[Dig]

FF Patsy to keep Afghanistan Opium Trade moving was arrested with two of his CIA handlers


US took three people off New York-Dubai flight
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_took_three_people_off_New_York_D_05042010.html
Published: Tuesday May 4, 2010

US officials halted a New York-Dubai flight just before takeoff before removing three people, an airline said after a suspect in an attempted New York bombing was arrested trying to fly to the Gulf emirate.

"Emirates can confirm that its flight EK 202 (from New York to Dubai on May 3)... was called back by the local authorities prior to departure. Three passengers were removed from the flight," Emirates Airlines said.

"Full security procedures were activated, including the deplaning of all passengers and a thorough screening of the aircraft, passengers, and baggage. Emirates is cooperating with the local authorities," it said in a statement.

The three passengers were escorted from the aircraft by "US authorities," a spokeswoman for the carrier, which is based in the Gulf city-state, told AFP without elaborating.

US officials said earlier that a Pakistani-American suspect in an attempted car bombing on Saturday in New York's Times Square was arrested while trying to flee on flight from New York to Dubai.

New York police chief Raymond Kelly has said more than one person may have been involved in the attempted bombing, but offered no specifics.

The bomb failed to go off, and police flooded the area, shutting down entire blocks, evacuating thousands and preventing many tourists from getting back to their hotels or to Broadway shows.

A statement from US law enforcement officials said the suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was taken into custody around 11:45 pm Monday "for allegedly driving a car bomb into Times Square on the evening of May 1, 2010."

According to Emirates' website, the EK 202 flight was scheduled to depart at 2300 EDT Monday (0300 GMT on Tuesday), but did not actually take off until about 0612 EDT Tuesday (1100 GMT).

News reports said Shahzad, 30, lived in Connecticut and had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan including the city of Peshawar, a known jumping-off point for Al-Qaeda and Taliban recruits.

ABC News said officials tracked Shahzad over two days using evidence found in the Nissan Pathfinder left at the scene and the unexploded bomb components.

ABC reported that, according to authorities, Shahzad bought the vehicle in which the bomb was placed one week before the bombing attempt, paying 1,300 dollars in cash for the vehicle in 100 bills.

Part of the probe centered on two people captured on film leaving the scene late Saturday, the New York police chief said.

New York has been on constant watch for potential attacks since the September 11, 2001, airliner attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center, killing almost 3,000 people.

[Dig]

[sarc]wow, really, he almost got away, incredible!

see, spying on everyones phones and email works.[/sarc]

what a total scam!

Most accurate comment:

matt
Guess we gotta blow up more brown people.....


Update: Times Square bomb suspect arrested ‘at last second’
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0504/times-square-car-bomb-suspect-arrested-jfk/
By Raw Story
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 -- 1:38 am


A man identified as a US citizen of Pakistani origin was arrested in connection with an attempted car bombing in New York's Times Square, news media reported Tuesday.

According to CNN, the suspect was arrested at the "last second."

"Shahzad was on board Emirates Airlines Flight 202 to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the jetway had been pulled back when the plane was called to return to the gate, a law enforcement source said. Shahzad was booked through to Islamabad, Pakistan, via Dubai, a senior airline official" told the network.

"They just caught him at the last second," a law enforcement source purportedly remarked.

A report at NBC News, with contributions by the Associated Press notes, "A US citizen, Shahzad Faisal, 30, was apprehended by Customs and Border Patrol agents at the Queens international airport around midnight while trying to board a plane to Pakistan, presumably to escape the manhunt that has been on since Saturday night, law enforcement sources said."
Story continues below...

Late Monday, New York police and FBI agents had narrowed their focus on Faisal, who recently returned from a trip to Pakistan and three weeks ago bought the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder used in the failed car bomb on Saturday night.

Investigators say Faisal's name was on an email that was sent to the seller of the SUV last month after they connected on Craigslist, but officials cannot definitively say whether he used his own email or whether someone else sent it from his account.

The New York Post reported that the SUV was sold via online ads at Craiglist and other auto internet sites by a nineteen year old Connecticut college student.

She sold the SUV to the man — now being sought as the attack’s main suspect — on April 28 for $1,300. He reportedly paid her in $100 bills.

Later that day, Colas posted a message on her Facebook page that read, “I’m soooo happy I got a new car  .

But by late Sunday, she was clearly upset, posting: “OMG! I HAD A CRAZY DAY ... IT’S OFFICIAL. I HAVE BAD LUCK. SMH I HOPE THEY FIND THAT BASTARD.”

CBS News, without naming Colas, reported that she told investigators the buyer was Middle Eastern or Hispanic.

However, reports at the Washington Post and CBS News on Monday that quoted sources who spoke to the seller both used masculine pronouns in the accounts.

RAW STORY can confirm that Ms. Coles was the seller, according to copies of the ad that can still be found on the internet, some of which contain her first name, email address and phone number.

The NY Times reports,

Mr. Shahzad was taken into custody at Kennedy Airport, apparently trying to flee, one of the people said. Charges against Mr. Shahzad, who had returned recently from a trip to Pakistan, were not announced.

The authorities began focusing on him after they tracked the vehicle to its previously registered owner in Bridgeport, Conn., who had advertised it for sale on several Web sites. He paid cash, and the sale was handled without any formal paperwork.

The former owner told investigators that it appeared the buyer was of Middle Eastern or Hispanic descent, but could not recall his name. It was unclear how agents from the Joint Terrorist Task Force identified him. Federal authorities provided few details on Monday night about the arrest, the suspect or the scope of any conspiracy in the failed attack.

An AP report published after the NBC News/AP article adds fresh details,

The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was identified by customs agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport and was stopped before boarding an Emirates airlines flight to Dubai, according to officials who spoke to The Associated Press early Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation. He had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he had a wife.

He was being held in New York and couldn't be contacted. He has a Shelton, Conn., address; a phone number listed there wasn't in service.

The latest AP report still refers to the seller as a male: "Law enforcement officials say Shahzad bought the SUV, a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder, from a Connecticut man about three weeks ago and paid cash. The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case."

A Connecticut newspaper published an article quoting a man named Faisal Shazad in 2009, who may or may not be the same suspect now held in custody:

It's now a common refrain at Checkers Food Stores on North Colony Street in Wallingford. "Everybody is so mad, and say, 'This is my last pack,' " manager Faisal Shahzad said. "Then they come back and complain about the government."

Brand loyalty has become a thing of the past, as smokers got stung with a $1.80 price increase in the past three weeks, retailers said. Smokers are looking for bargains, such as lower-priced generics that have reached $5.50 per pack, and more smokers are rolling their own.

US Attorney Eric Holder released the following statement:

####

Earlier this evening, Faisal Shahzad was arrested in connection with the attempted car bombing in New York on Saturday. Mr. Shahzad, an American citizen, was taken into custody at JFK Airport in New York as he attempted to board a flight to Dubai.

Since this plot was first uncovered on Saturday night, the FBI, prosecutors and intelligence lawyers in the National Security Division of the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorneys Offices in Manhattan and Connecticut, along with the NYPD have worked night and day to find out who was responsible for what would have been a deadly attack had it been successful. Over the course of the day today, we have gathered significant additional evidence that led to tonight's arrest, which was made by agents from Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection.

This investigation is ongoing, as are our attempts to gather useful intelligence, and we continue to pursue a number of leads. But it's clear that the intent behind this terrorist act was to kill Americans.

[Dig]

Suspect should never have boarded plane: Mayor Bloomberg
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0504/suspect-plane-mayor-bloomberg/
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 -- 11:31 am



New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday criticized the fact that the Times Square bombing suspect was able to board a plane bound for Dubai shortly before being arrested.

"I don't want to speculate how that happened. Clearly the guy was on the plane and shouldn't have been," Bloomberg said at a press conference.

US authorities say they arrested Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-born US citizen, at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport after he boarded an Emirates Airline plane that was on the point of take off.

Bloomberg said "we should take a good look" at how Shahzad was able to get on the plane after buying a ticket and clearing strict security procedures.

"I don't want to criticize those who provide security at the airports," Bloomberg said. "It is a federal agency that has a no-fly list that lets you on or not."


What about the 1,500 cameras Michael? What about NLE10 Michael?

[Dig]

New Narrative, watch for it...

"He tried to blow people up because bank was foreclosing on his house"

[Dig]

Obama: CIA Agent in Pakistan During Afghan-Soviet War
http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=169497.0


Spread the word: Obama says he digs Urdu poetry
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/24055.html
By ABBY PHILLIP | 6/23/09 6:48 AM EST

If you want to make high-brow small talk at one of President Barack Obama’s cocktail parties, don’t bother brushing up your Shakespeare. Try reading Urdu poetry.

As POLITICO’s Ben Smith points out in his blog, Obama showed off his intellectual flair by evoking a standard of Pakistani culture in a recent interview with Dawn, a popular English-language newspaper in Pakistan.

“‘I would love to visit. As you know, I had Pakistani roommates in college who were very close friends of mine. I went to visit them when I was still in college; was in Karachi and went to Hyderabad. Their mothers taught me to cook,’ said Mr Obama.

‘What can you cook?’

‘Oh, keema ... daal ... You name it, I can cook it. And so I have a great affinity for Pakistani culture and the great Urdu poets.’

‘You read Urdu poetry?’

‘Absolutely. So my hope is that I’m going to have an opportunity at some point to visit Pakistan,’ said Mr Obama.”

It may sound somewhat esoteric, but this ancient form of mystical and oft-times philosophical love poetry has been popular in Pakistan and parts of India for centuries. And there are a few things to know before you try to impress the poetry-lover-in-chief.

One of the most popular poets was Mirza Ghalib, whose work dates from the mid-19th century. The still-popular art form usually features the story of a lover scorned by his beloved. And there is almost never a happy ending. “Often the beloved is often a total witch,” says Gwen Kirk, a University of Texas master’s candidate in the subject of Urdu poetry. “She breaks the lover’s heart all the time; she neglects him. It’s all about the process of trying to get closer to the beloved, and it’s got a lot of Sufi and mystical elements as well.”

The ghazal is the most common form of Urdu poetry, and, like sonnets, it follows strict rules of form: four to 12 couplets with a meter and rhyme scheme. But the similarities end there. Couplets in an Urdu poem can sometimes be completely unrelated to each other, each delving into themes that range from unrequited love to the meaning of life.

Fear not if your Urdu — one of two official languages in Pakistan — is a little rusty. Obama likely reads one of the many translated compilations of the texts, according to Kirk. Or if he is a truly savvy Urdu poetry enthusiast, he may choose to listen to the poems recited or sung, as it is commonly performed in the region.

Obama’s admission that he shares an affinity with the “great Urdu poets” may get him further in the region than most think. The language and poetry are commonly associated with Pakistan’s and India’s Muslim population, according to Kirk, and it remains intensely popular in the region — poetry recitals sometimes attract gatherings of thousands of people.

“It does show a willingness to understand that part of the world,” says Kirk.

And in general, it gives Obama further credibility as a supporter of the arts. Not only is he one of three American presidents to have poetry read at their Inaugurations, but he reads the stuff, too!

[Dig]

Zardari Signs Into Law Bill Reducing His Powers in Pakistan
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-19/zardari-signs-into-law-bill-reducing-his-powers-in-pakistan.html
April 19, 2010, 8:22 AM EDT
By Khalid Qayum

April 19 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari signed into law a bill that transfers some of his powers, including the authority to dissolve the parliament and appoint military chiefs.

Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif attended the ceremony that was broadcast on state-run television from the capital, Islamabad. Pakistani lawmakers this month passed the bill, which Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said marked the country’s return to true democracy.

“It is an unprecedented event in Pakistan that a leader has transferred power so smoothly,” Gilani said at the event.

[Dig]

Times Square Link Could Force Pakistan's Hand
 http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20004058-503543.html
This story was filed by CBS News' Farhan Bokhari, reporting from Lahore.
May 4, 2010 7:36 AM 

The arrest of a Pakistani-born American man for driving a failed car bomb into New York's Times Square on Saturday has once again thrust the south Asian country under the global spotlight as a center of terrorism, just as the Obama administration seeks to shore-up Pakistani support for Washington's fight in Afghanistan.

Faisal Shahzad's arrest followed the appearance of a video message on the Internet by Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, claiming responsibility for the Times Square attempt.

Mehsud also promised to launch terrorist attacks on major American cities. Mehsud, earlier reported to have been killed in a January attack by a U.S. drone, warned, "The time is very near when our Fedayeen (fighters prepared to sacrifice themselves) will attack the American states in their major cities."

"Our Fedayeen have penetrated the terrorist America. We will give extremely painful blows to the fanatic America," Mehsud threatened.

While Pakistani officials still disagree on whether it was genuinely Mehsud who appeared in the video or a look-alike, news of Shahzad's arrest has prompted speculation over his possible direct or indirect links to Islamic militants based in the country -- notably the Taliban.

"This arrest will prompt many people to ask once again the very obvious question, which is, how rapidly are the Taliban emerging as a threat to Pakistan and the world," Hasan Askari Rizvi, a respected Pakistani commentator on security affairs told CBS News.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters in Islamabad the U.S. would have Pakistan's full cooperation in investigating the case.

However, other senior Pakistani government officials say the case has to be seen primarily as a domestic U.S. security issue, given that the only named suspect thus far is a U.S. national who intended to commit a crime on U.S. soil.

But Rizvi disagreed.

"You can't keep on pretending that a case of this kind will not have links to elements here (in Pakistan). We need the case to be investigated further," he told CBS News. "At the very least, the involvement of a man of Pakistani origin raises new questions over how far Islamic militants are determined to plan new attacks."

Further details of Shahzad's exact links to his native Pakistan, such as where his family are located, are yet to be revealed. Western diplomats in Pakistan suggest that, based strictly on his name, he may be from the populous Punjab province. If that is the case, the spotlight will ultimately fall on militant groups based in that province of about 100 million people.

In Lahore, the provincial capital of the Punjab, a government official told CBS News: "Faisal and Shahzad are very common names in the Punjab. If it is discovered that he travelled to Pakistan recently and spent most of his time in Punjab, that will prompt further investigations."

Suggestions of links to other regions away from the border with Afghanistan, such as the southern port city of Karachi, will also inevitably force the government to open new fronts.

Politically speaking, for Pakistan's U.S.-allied President Asif Ali Zardari, expanding an ongoing anti-Taliban military campaign in border areas into the densely packed Punjab would bring huge new risks, warned the provincial government official, who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity.

"We have to see how deep this guy's connections are and exactly where in Punjab," added the provincial official. "If it turns out that he was backed by a group from the Punjab, that will present the government with very difficult choices."

"Any eventual decision to begin attacking suspected bases of militants in the Punjab will probably be retaliated, so there might be more bloodshed," concluded the official.

A western diplomat in Islamabad says, "the road ahead will get rough for Pakistani authorities if they are forced to open more fronts. The New York attempt could unleash a major new phase for Pakistan's battle against militants, with consequences that will be hard to figure out at this stage."

[Dig]

press conference in 10 mins by Pakistani CIA agent Barry Soetoro

[Viper]

AJ just made a great observation on the subject, ya'll catch that? AJ be 90% that it be a FF.

[ekimdrachir]

Google it its all over the twitters

[H0llyw00d]

Name sez it all!!!



Faisal Shahzad

[Viper]

New info from a certain Sheriff, seems there was a drill to include a truck bomb in Manhattan same day,
just like a drill when Joe the pilot crashed his plane.

[Dig]

5 in pakistan arrested

[Dig]

New info from a certain Sheriff, seems there was a drill to include a truck bomb in Manhattan same day,
just like a drill when Joe the pilot crashed his plane.

? Where?

Part of NLE10?

[Viper]

? Where?

Part of NLE10?

It was said by AJ when the subject was first broached on today's show, AJ said there was a truck bomb drill, i guess this info came from the Sheriff, it was in New York.

[Viper]

Sheriff Involved In Bomb Squad Drills Before Times Square Incident


NEW YORK  – Lee County Sheriff Michael Scott was in New York City over the weekend and shortly after taking part in a New York City bomb squad training session, he found himself at the scene of a bomb scare in Times Square.  Sheriff Scott spoke with WINK News.

Meanwhile, a law enforcement official says the registered owner of an SUV used in a botched bombing in Times Square told investigators he sold it for cash three weeks ago.

The official tells The Associated Press that the Connecticut owner questioned Sunday about what happened to the SUV says he sold the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder to a stranger.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to the AP on Monday because the investigation is at a sensitive stage.

Investigators interviewed the last owner on record of the vehicle in a probe of a failed bombing that cleared several streets around Times Square of thousands of tourists on a busy Saturday night.

Officials say the owner, whose name has not been released, is not considered a suspect in the botched bombing.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/sheriff-involved-in-bomb-squad-drills-before-times-square-incident.html

http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2010-05-03/Sheriff-Scott-at-scene-of-NYC-car-bomb-SUVs-registered-owner-sold-it

[Dig]

Sheriff Involved In Bomb Squad Drills Before Times Square Incident


NEW YORK  – Lee County Sheriff Michael Scott was in New York City over the weekend and shortly after taking part in a New York City bomb squad training session, he found himself at the scene of a bomb scare in Times Square.  Sheriff Scott spoke with WINK News.

Meanwhile, a law enforcement official says the registered owner of an SUV used in a botched bombing in Times Square told investigators he sold it for cash three weeks ago.

The official tells The Associated Press that the Connecticut owner questioned Sunday about what happened to the SUV says he sold the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder to a stranger.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to the AP on Monday because the investigation is at a sensitive stage.

Investigators interviewed the last owner on record of the vehicle in a probe of a failed bombing that cleared several streets around Times Square of thousands of tourists on a busy Saturday night.

Officials say the owner, whose name has not been released, is not considered a suspect in the botched bombing.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/sheriff-involved-in-bomb-squad-drills-before-times-square-incident.html

http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2010-05-03/Sheriff-Scott-at-scene-of-NYC-car-bomb-SUVs-registered-owner-sold-it

THIS NEEDS TO BE TALKED ABOUT EVERYWHERE

[A K]

Faisal Shahzad is about 30 years old, dark skinned and has a full head of black hair.

So who was the 40 year old bald headed white man on the video, changing his shirt and acting strangely as he walks away from the SUV?

Will he be forgotten about, just like OKC's "John Doe #2", or the men who helped the Christmas bomber, or the vans on 9-11?

There is a lot of evidence pointing to this as a false flag.

But one thing going against this being a false flag, and perhaps a real attempt by a real Muslim fanatic, is the fact that it was so incompetent.  Leaving a VIN on the engine, buying the car in a traceable way and the failure of the bomb to ignite.  Usually a CIA/Mossad/Neocon/Organized Crime false flag is done in a very competnet manner.  But perhaps they just selected a patsy who was dumber than usual.

[Dig]

He probably has connections to the DEA like Headley who helped assassinate 166 Indians in the Mumbai massacre


Mumbai terrorist worked for the DEA's Special International Covert Operations
http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=145696.0


December 17, 2009
Mumbai terror suspect David Headley was ‘rogue US secret agent’
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6960182.ece

A key terror suspect who allegedly helped to plan last year’s attacks in Mumbai and plotted to strike Europe was an American secret agent who went rogue, Indian officials believe.

David Headley, 49, who was born in Washington to a Pakistan diplomat father and an American mother, was arrested in Chicago in October. He is accused of reconnoitring targets in India and Europe for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Pakistan-based terror group behind the Mumbai attacks and of having links to al-Qaeda. He has denied the charges.

He came to the attention of the US security services in 1997 when he was arrested in New York for heroin smuggling. He earned a reduced sentence by working for the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) infiltrating Pakistan-linked narcotics gangs.

Indian investigators, who have been denied access to Mr Headley, suspect that he remained on the payroll of the US security services — possibly working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) — but switched his allegiance to LeT.
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“India is looking into whether Headley worked as a double agent,” an Indian Home Ministry official said yesterday.

Mr Headley, who changed his name from Daood Gilani, was in Mumbai until two weeks before the attacks on the city, which claimed 166 lives last November. It is alleged that he spent months checking targets in India’s commercial capital, using his Western looks and anglicised name to move in elite social circles, hobnob with Bollywood actors and even to pass himself off as Jewish.

Despite being firmly on the radar of the US intelligence agencies, he was allowed to return to India as recently as March. Indian officials are furious that their American counterparts did not share details of that visit at the time. The Indian media has raised the possibility that Mr Headley was being protected by his American handlers — a theory that experts say is credible.

“The feeling in India is that the US has not been transparent,” said B. Raman, a former counter-terrorism chief in the Indian foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing.

“That Headley was an agent for the DEA is known. Whether he was being used by the CIA as well is a matter of speculation, but it is almost certain that the CIA was aware of him and his movements across the subcontinent.”

According to Mr Raman, it is probable that Mr Headley, who was arrested when the US authorities learned that he was about to fly to Pakistan, was listed on the main database of the US National Counterterrorism Centre, a facility used by the CIA and several other American agencies to track terror suspects.

Indian officials suspect that US agencies declined to share intelligence to avoid compromising other secret operations and to to be able to deny any link with Mr Headley.

Analysts believe that the US may also have been anxious to avoid sharing information that could further raise tensions between India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed neighbours who have fought three wars.

According to documents put before a court in Chicago, Mr Headley had links with the Pakistan Army and, through it, with al-Qaeda.

As well as helping to co-ordinate the Mumbai atrocity, Mr Headley is accused of planning attacks on Mumbai’s Bollywood film industry, the Shiv Sena, a Hindu extremist group also based in Mumbai, a major Hindu temple, and a Danish newspaper that had published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

The US authorities allege that he was close to Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a former Pakistani schoolmate and businessman who is also being charged with planning to attack the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten. Mr Rana is accused of having known about the attack on Mumbai in advance.

The CIA denied that Headley had worked for the organisation.

“Any suggestion that Headley was working for the CIA is complete and utter nonsense. It’s flat-out false,” Paul Gimigliano, from the CIA’s Office of Public Affairs, said.

The Indian Home Secretary, Gopal Krishna Pillai, has said that his Government would seek the extradition of Mr Headley — a request that has so far been stonewalled by US officials.

[Dig]

Holy shit! The timing!

So right before this Pakistani crapola false flag, India was getting full access to talk to David Headley the DEA agent who helped assassinate 166 during the Mumbai attacks. Headley holds many keys to the Opium drug trade and ways to continue false flag attacks. He is behind the assassination plot on the Dutch cartoonist which was then used in the Southpark crap. Now they are still talking about the car dud as being part of a Southpark plot which stemmed from the Dutch assassination.

Well this is the guy connecting CIA/Pakistan/DEA/False flag terrorism/Opium drug trade. He is being held by the FBI and India was on their way to interview him. I am not sure anything has been disrupted, but it could be that this interview could really expose so much about the bullshit war on terror which just covers up the East India/Dope, Inc./Bilderberg drug trade.


May 1, 2010
India to quiz Headley on 26/11 attacks anytime
http://news.oneindia.in/2010/05/01/india-to-quiz-headley-on-26-11-attacks-anytime.html
 Saturday, May 1, 2010, 9:48 [IST]


New Delhi, May 1: After months of uncertainty, Indian authorities finally get access to the Pakistani-American terrorist, David Coleman Headley, who is believed to have had a key role in the plotting of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Indian investigative officers will be allowed to go and question Headley, who is in the custody of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) any time, say media reports.


A leading TV news channel, CNN-IBN, reported on Saturday, May 1 that US has imposed no pre-conditions on the access to Headley.

Quoting sources the report said that a new investigating team will be set up by India to go and question Headley.

Headley earlier confessed to his role in the Mumbai terror attacks after striking a deal with US prosecutors to avoid death sentence.

As part of the plea bargain, Headley asked that he should not be extradited to Pakistan, India or Denmark. The agreement therefore makes sure that Headley co-operates completely with international investigative agencies in questioning in connection with various terror plots.

The United States had been promising 'direct access' to Headley. However, there were certain 'roadblocks' that needed to be addressed.

Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramanium and the US Attorney General Eric Holder met to clear off these roadblocks earlier this week.

[Dig]

Squaring off in US: Preet Bharara vs Pakistani-Americans
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Squaring-off-in-US-Preet-Bharara-vs-Pakistani-Americans/articleshow/5890990.cms
Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN, May 4, 2010, 11.39pm IST
 

WASHINGTON: The arrest of a Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad by US law enforcement authorities in connection with the Times Square terror plot will once again put the focus on Preet Bharara, the India-born US Federal Attorney, who is already under attack in some Pakistani quarters for allegedly carrying out a "witch-hunt" against Pakistanis in the US.

Bharara, 41, who is one of the 93 US Attorneys appointed the US President, heads the US Attorney's office for the Southern District in New York, which covers Manhattan, where the attempted bombing took place, and JFK Airport, where terror suspect Faisal Shahzad was arrested.

Bharara, who was born in Ferozepur, Punjab, and moved to the US with his parents when he was only two, grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Harvard in 1990 and Columbia Law School in 1993 (which are also President Obama's alma mater), before embarking on a legal and political path where he was marked as a rising star very early in his career.

Obama appointed him US Attorney in the summer of 2009, and in the months since, he has handled several high-profile prosecution cases including that of Ponzi scammer Bernie Madoff and 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

But in a vicious attack some weeks back, a Pakistani newspaper accused Bharara of carrying out a witch-hunt against Pakistanis in the US because of his "ideological beliefs" going back to the sub-continent's partition days.

The Nation newspaper also alleged that Bharara appointed a "like-minded controversial Indian who is also known for his hatred and venomous propaganda against Pakistan, Anjan Sahni, as Chief of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit soon after he assumed the charge of US Federal Attorney of New York."

But there is very little in Bharara's life or career that points to any prejudice or bias. In fact, among the prosecutions he is handling is one against the Galleon Group, where defendants include Sri Lankan Raj Rajaratnam and Indian-Americans Anil Kumar and Rajiv Goel. Although a Democrat (he worked on New York Senator Charles Schumer's staff before being appointed US Attorney), he has earned praise across party lines.

Bharara's father is a Sikh and his mother is Hindu and they both moved from what became Pakistan to the Indian side during partition. But his father-in-law is a Muslim who moved in the other direction and his mother-in-law is from Palestine and is of Jewish origin.

In a statement following Shahzad's arrest, Bharara said "the dedicated agents, detectives, and prosecutors on this case will continue to follow every lead and use every tool to keep the people of New York City safe," and pledged that "we will not rest until every terrorist, whether homegrown or foreign-based, is neutralized and held to account."

Shahzad is not the first Pakistani-American to be arrested in the US in connection with terrorism. Besides the infamous Daood Gilani alias David Coleman Headley, there have been several recent cases where Pakistani-Americans have been apprehended, including one involving Chicago cab driver Raja Lahrasib Khan in March this year.

In fact, almost every terror plot unearthed in the United States, going back to World Trade Center I attack in 1993 and the 9/11 catastrophe, has its footprints and fingerprints of its so-called ally Pakistan, and not the usual American suspects such as Iran or Syria, much less outliers such as Cuba and Venezuela.

More recently, US experts have warned of attempts by al-Qaida and their terror affiliates to use US citizens of Pakistani origin, who meld easily into American society (such as David Headley, and now Faisal Shahzad) for terrorist attacks.

The warnings led to Washington instituting extra scrutiny for fliers from Pakistan and 13 other "countries of interest," but a TSA directive this effect was withdrawn after a major tantrum by Pakistan that its nationals were being unfairly singled out.

[A K]

The father of Faisal Shahzad is a high ranking Pakistani Air Force General.

It looks like the 40ish balding white guy will be thrown down the memory hole, never to be examined by the mainstream corporate media, along with OKC's John Doe #2, the vans on 9-11, the shot from the grassy knoll, etc.

This bombing was so incompetent, it makes me think it could be a real Muslim fanatic.  But other factors, like the balding white guy, make me think this could be a false flag, and they just picked a very dumb patsy.

[A K]

I don't know if anyone can do a side by side, but the Times Square balding white guy looks like one of the pictures of the Mossad assassins who were also caught on video tape.

[Dig]

The father of Faisal Shahzad is a high ranking Pakistani Air Force General.

It looks like the 40ish balding white guy will be thrown down the memory hole, never to be examined by the mainstream corporate media, along with OKC's John Doe #2, the vans on 9-11, the shot from the grassy knoll, etc.

This bombing was so incompetent, it makes me think it could be a real Muslim fanatic.  But other factors, like the balding white guy, make me think this could be a false flag, and they just picked a very dumb patsy.

there are 1,500 cameras in times square, the only reason we saw the balding white guy is because it was a direct order from Bilderberg.

We need to see all the videos and all the videos from 9/11.

We are tired of these obvious scams for Brzezinski and Kissinger geopolitical hand jobs.

[citizenx]

I actually think the "40-year-old white guy" was b.s., too, but we need to hold their feet to the fire to explain this contradiction in their so-called official investigation.

So, until they produce all the videos, I say "Where's the white guy?"

[A K]

The fact that they are NOT talking about the balding white guy anymore leads me to suspect it may have been a rare instance where an operative is exposed. 

He may be unconnected, but his actions looked suspicious.

[Dig]

Times Square FF occured during NLE10 and during bomb drill exercise intended to stop anti-war and anti-opium trade sentiment
http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?board=467.0

There are over 1,000 pieces of evidence (like the 1,500 cameras in Times Square w/24/7video) proving this is a false flag attack on reality. It could be connected to NLE10's plan to detonate a nuke on US soil as exposed in government leaked documents. Additionally, most US citizens including soldiers have figured out that the Afghanistan and Pakistan war is all about Opium trade and nothing to do with protecting America. The wars are feeding the banks that fund it and continue causing economic havoc on the next few generations as well as psychological and physical havoc on our brave men and women on the front lines. It has been exposed that the Mumbai false flag was planned by the DEA special international operations unit. The main operational planner has been gagged by the FBI, but may soon be forced to talk. It has also been exposed that CIA agent Erik Prince and his group of CIA mercenaries at Blackwater/Xe are conducting projects that fund and create terrorism on one side while exterminating jounalists and opposition (as well as just random groups of people) within Pakistan. They are loading and controlling UAVs and have been granted 100% immunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity which put American troops in harm's way. These indisputable facts have been fully documented by brave humanitarian Jeremy Scahill. Lastly the overwhelming testimony by Sibel Edmonds exposes the fact that Cheney, Grossman, and numerous other high level officials are actively funding false flag terrorist activities included but not limited to the exchange of nuclear secrets with terror groups in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. She has also exposed that Osama Bin Laden worked for the CIA on the day on 9/11/2001. It is highly likely that this patsy also believed he was working for US intelligence agencies up until the NYPD/NLE2010 bomb scare exercise drill started going live.



Child Boards:

Sibel Edmonds, CASE STUDY: Blackwater/Xe = CIA, CIA = Blackwater/Xe, MI6 Mumbai False Flag, CIA'S WAR IN PAKISTAN, CIA'S WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

[Dig]

The fact that they are NOT talking about the balding white guy anymore leads me to suspect it may have been a rare instance where an operative is exposed. 

He may be unconnected, but his actions looked suspicious.

There are over 500 intelligence operatives involved with this, most are in Pakistan. They are currently tagging and bagging all Blackwater/CIA/Mossad/MI6 oppposition indiscriminately.

Cheney/Kissinger death squads have gotten the green light to "go to town".

And it started a few weeks ago, this staged event just gave added cover for an already "in motion" plan by "the last circle".

[Dig]

DARPA Bounces Smart Radar Off Buildings To Track Individual Urban Vehicles From the Sky
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-03/darpas-street-level-radar-sees-around-corners-track-vehicles-sky
By Clay Dillow
Posted 03.24.2010 at 1:07 pm

Tracking from Above It's difficult to use radar in urban environments because of all the structures that get in the way. But by bouncing highly sensitive radar off of buildings' facades, DARPA hopes to lock onto individual vehicles from UAVs and track them through urban streets even when buildings block line of sight. Zemlinki

Radar is great for tracking objects in the wide-open sky or even at sea, but when you try to take it to street level you run into some obstacles -- literally. Radar requires a good line of sight, and obstructions like buildings or terrain features can render radar useless. But now, using a handful of unmanned aircraft and technology that allows them to intelligently reflect radar off buildings, DARPA is developing a system that should be able to track individual vehicles even as they dart between skyscrapers and other structures.

Dubbed Multipath Exploitation Radar, the system works by using buildings as mirrors, bouncing radar off of surfaces to "see" around corners and keep tabs on vehicles even without direct line of sight. First the MER system uses LIDAR -- optical surveying tech that is already packed on many aircraft -- to create a 3-D map of a city. That model of the city allows the system to calculate which reflective angles can best keep an eye on a particular vehicle even when it is obscured by a structure.

Using Ku-band radar, the MER is sensitive to even slight differences between similar vehicles, ensuring that the target car isn't lost in the mix of traffic even when the signals are bouncing off of buildings. That's a key component of MER that can't fail if the system is to work in crowded urban environments. And it will have to; DARPA thinks that once a LIDAR model of a city is made, MER can cover a swath of terrain more than 600 square miles in size.

But MER has some obstacles of its own to overcome before it starts seeing through buildings. The key challenge is maintaining a lock on the target as the radar re-orients itself from line-of-sight to reflection and back, perhaps multiple times very rapidly as a car speeds through urban streets. In the meantime, the ever-ambitious DARPA is looking into developiong an algorithm that would allow MER to track several vehicles in different areas at once.

DARPA Wants Roving 'Smart Cameras' That Understand What They See
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-03/darpa-wants-smart-cameras-understand-what-they-see
By Clay Dillow
Posted 03.17.2010 at 5:16 pm

Smarter Cameras DARPA wants cameras that can interpret what they're seeing Hustvedt

The problem with surveillance cameras is that they can see but they can't think, which means there always has to be a human on the other end making cognitive sense of what's right in front of the camera. But if we meshed machine vision with visual intelligence, DARPA argues in a solicitation for its new "Mind's Eye" program, we could remove the human element from myriad tasks.

In essense, DARPA wants a smart camera that not only sees what's in front of it, but thinks about what's going on and even what might happen next.

For humans, taking in our surroundings and applying learned concepts to them is innate. We can use our imagination to apply learned concepts to potential scenarios that haven't even taken place. These things are so easy to do we don't even think about them, but they're very difficult to duplicate in machines.

Machines, DARPA argues, can't piece the entire mosaic of space together, perceiving only the "nouns" in a given setting. "The focus of Mind's Eye is to add the perceptual and cognitive underpinnings for recognizing and reasoning about the verbs in those scenes, enabling a more complete narrative of action in the visual experience."

Applications for such technology abound, but specifically DARPA mentions the need for a smart camera that can "report on activity in an area of observation." The agency sees such visual devices deployed on fixed surveillance platforms, "camera_equipped perch-and-stare micro air vehicles" and unmanned ground vehicles. But if the technology is such that it can do all the things DARPA wants it to, we think they can do even better.

Out of the Blue, DARPA Seeks Means to Manipulate Lightning
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-12/out-blue-darpa-seeks-means-manipulate-lightning
By Clay Dillow
Posted 12.21.2009 at 5:30 pm

Lightning Mother Nature has it. DARPA wants it.

China and Russia try to control rain clouds and the Dutch use technology to keep low-lying inland areas from flooding, so why shouldn’t the United States be able to manipulate lightning? In an attempt to better understand one of nature’s most powerful processes, DARPA issued a broad agency announcement yesterday asking for ideas on how to best protect American personnel and resources from dangers and costs associated with lightning strikes. To wit:

Lightning causes more than $1B/year in direct damages to property in addition to the loss of lives, disruption of activities (for example, postponement of satellite launches) and their corresponding costs. A better understanding of the physics underlying lightning discharge, associated emissions, and related processes (for example, tribocharging in the clouds) may lead to revolutionary advances in the state of the art of lightning protection.

Specifically, DARPA seeks validated models on the natural lightning process, a means of triggering lightning within a storm intentionally, and strategies for protecting a given area from lightning strikes during a storm by somehow reducing the probability that lightning will strike there.

The call for proposals also asks various questions about manipulating lightning’s natural unpredictability: “Given an area (size: 1 square kilometer) in the presence of a thunderstorm, is it possible to reduce the probability of a cloud to ground lightning strike in that area? How might lightning initiation be inhibited, or lightning propagation be diverted or blocked to achieve this goal? Is it possible to induce lightning in one region within the storm system, in order to suppress lightning in the region in need of protection?”

The call for proposals clearly seeks a means of protecting U.S. assets – think military and space installations that could do without a massive, circuit-frying electrical surge – from the often-devastating effects of a lightning strike.

Of course, the DARPA enthusiasts in us want to believe that the DoD is actually pursuing a lightning weapon that we can aim at our enemies’ military installations. But one thing is made abundantly clear by this call for proposals: there’s a lot about lightning we just don’t know.

How Bat Sonar Could Improve Human Cameras
The complex algorithm which bats employ to identify plants could make for the most advanced facial recognition software yet
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-12/out-blue-darpa-seeks-means-manipulate-lightning
By Matt Ransford
Posted 03.24.2008 at 5:07 pm

Bats Seth Tisue

This past week we happened to cover both dolphin echolocation and facial recognition. Today comes a report on a study that may bring the two concepts a little closer together. German researchers have devised a computer algorithm which is able to identify plant species using sonar echoes, in the same way bats are able to find fruit and insects. If the technology is one day sufficiently refined, it could ultimately be used for facial recognition.

Bats rely on echolocation to find their way around and to hunt prey and forage for fruit. In order better to understand how the bats identify which plants bear the fruit they prefer, the researchers at the University of Tübingen devised a software routine that could analyze the echo response time and frequency of sound waves reflected off isolated plants. Each presented a distinct signature, based on the size and number of branches and leaves. The team was able to achieve nearly 100 percent accuracy once the study was complete.

Not only will the findings be valuable for the science of bats and echolocation, but the applications for humans are potentially great as well. The distinct advantage of a sonar identification system over a visual-based system is that it would be able to operate in low light or total darkness.

Tested: Face-Detecting Cameras
New cameras can spot a face in a crowd—and focus on it
http://www.popsci.com/gear-gadgets/article/2007-07/tested-face-detecting-cameras
By Aimee Baldridge
Posted 07.12.2007 at 2:00 am

The goal of autofocus is to make something in the picture come out sharp. But if you're taking a photo of people, it's not their hands you want in focus. Recently, camera makers have been adding the ability to detect faces in a scene, track them if they move, and optimize both focus and exposure to make everyone look their best. But not all face-detection systems are equal, as I discovered after testing several compact cameras on patient friends who posed by indoor light, as well as on passersby rushing through Times Square.

How it Works

All face-detecting cameras compare the scene before them to a built-in library of features derived from images of real people, such as the distances between eyes, patterns of light and shadow, and skin colors. So far, no models can identify a face in profile, and they don't function well in low light, such as in bars or candlelit rooms. But they're not easily fooled: In our tests, none were thrown off by variations in skin tone or by accessories like eyeglasses.

[ImmortalTRUTH]

Pakistan doubts Taliban Times Square claim
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/03-pakistan-doubts-taliban-times-square-claim-ss-01

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's army does not believe the Pakistani Taliban were behind the Times Square bomb attempt as the insurgent group has claimed, a spokesman said Wednesday.

In a video message on Sunday, the group said it carried out the attack, in what would be the first time it had been known to strike outside South Asia. US officials quickly dismissed the claim, but the arrest of a Pakistan-American who allegedly has admitted to being trained in the group's heartland in Waziristan has given it new credence.

Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the military's chief spokesman, said the claim should be ''taken with a pinch of salt.''

''Anybody can claim anything, but whether the organization has that kind of reach is questionable. I don't think they have the capacity to reach the next level,'' he said.

The attack is likely to increase pressure on the Pakistani army to launch a new offensive in the northern part of Waziristan, something it has been avoiding until now. US and European officials have long said that many of the terror plots in the West are hatched in the region.

Abbas declined to comment on reports that the suspect, Faisal Shahzad, had been to Waziristan for training.

The army had claimed to have delivered the Pakistani Taliban a decisive blow in an operation late last year in South Waziristan. But the notion that the Pakistani Taliban are on the ropes has been shaken by the emergence of videos of a top commander previously believed to have been killed, and the group's claims of responsibility for the Times Square bomb attempt. – AP

[ImmortalTRUTH]

Pakistan receives $468 million from US security fund
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-pak-receives-468-mn-csf-qs-04

KARACHI: Pakistan's central bank said on Wednesday it had received $468 million from the United States in compensation for some of its costs in battling militancy.

The US embassy in Islamabad said on Tuesday it had released $656 million to Pakistan from its so-called coalition support fund (CSF) for some costs incurred last year, with $188 million transferred last week and another $468 million on Monday.

“We received $468 million last night,” said Syed Wasimuddin, chief spokesman for the State Bank of Pakistan.

The bank said on Tuesday it had received the first $188 million last Friday.

The CSF is a US programme to reimburse allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.

Pakistan's role in the battle against militants has been highlighted in recent days with the arrest in the United States of a Pakistani-American in connection with a botched car bomb in New York's Times Square.

The US funds come at an important time for cash-strapped Pakistan which is in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the release of a fifth tranche of an $11.3 billion loan.

The IMF board is expected to meet in mid-May to consider the fifth tranche of the loan, worth about $1.15 billion. The IMF has been pressing Pakistan to increase electricity tariffs and implement a value-added tax.

The central bank said the $188 million will be reflected in foreign exchange data to be released on Thursday, covering the week that ended on April 30. The remaining $468 million will be reflected in data to be released next week.

Foreign exchange reserves eased to $14.98 billion in the week that ended on April 23.

Foreign reserves hit a record high of $16.5 billion in October 2007 but fell steadily to $6.6 billion by November 2008, largely because of a soaring import bill.

[larsonstdoc]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100505/D9FGCQTG0.html

HOMELAND SECURITY---FAIL

They'll make your grandma get out of her wheelchair to check her but Faisal almost got through.

Security slip let suspect on plane, near takeoff
Email this Story

May 4, 9:44 PM (ET)

By EILEEN SULLIVAN and MATT APUZZO


WASHINGTON (AP) - The no-fly list failed to keep the Times Square suspect off the plane.
Faisal Shahzad boarded a jetliner bound for the United Arab Emirates Monday night before federal authorities pulled him back. Although under surveillance since midafternoon, he had managed to elude investigators and head to the airport.
The night's events, gradually coming to light, underscored the flaws in the nation's aviation security system, which despite its technologies, lists and information sharing, often comes down to someone making a right call.
As federal agents closed in, Faisal Shahzad was aboard Emirates Flight 202. He reserved a ticket on the way to John F. Kennedy International Airport, paid cash on arrival and walked through security without being stopped.


By the time Customs and Border Protection officials spotted Shahzad's name on the passenger list and recognized him as the bombing suspect they were looking for, he was in his seat and the plane was preparing to leave the gate. They knew to look for him because of updates to the no-fly list made earlier in the day.
At the last minute, the pilot was notified, the jetliner's door was opened and Shahzad was taken into custody.
After authorities pulled Shahzad off the plane, he admitted he was behind the crude Times Square car bomb, officials said. He also claimed to have been trained at a terror camp in Pakistan's lawless tribal region of Waziristan, according to court documents. That raised increased concern that the bombing was an international terror plot.
Shahzad, a Pakistani-born U.S. citizen, was charged Tuesday with terrorism and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction in Saturday evening's failed Times Square bombing. According to a federal complaint, he confessed to buying an SUV, rigging it with a homemade bomb and driving it into the busy area where he tried to detonate it.
Shahzad had been under constant watch at his Bridgeport, Conn., home since 3 p.m. Monday and federal authorities had planned to arrest him there that evening, two people familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press. Authorities believe he decided to flee after being spooked by news reports that investigators were seeking a Pakistani suspect in Connecticut, one of the people said.

(AP) From left, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Nora R. Dennehy, Assistant Attorney...
Full Image
Shahzad somehow lost the investigators who were trailing him, the two people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident.
The FBI and the NYPD declined to comment.
The Obama administration played down the fact that Shahzad, a U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, made it aboard the plane. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wouldn't talk about it, other than to say Customs officials prevented the plane from taking off. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the security system has fallback procedures in place for times like this, and they worked.
And Attorney General Eric Holder said he "was never in any fear that we were in danger of losing him."
But it seemed clear the airline either never saw or ignored key information that would kept Shahzad off the plane, a fact that dampened what was otherwise hailed as a fast, successful law enforcement operation.

(AP) In this photo from the social networking site Orkut.com, a man who was identified by neighbors in...
Full Image
The no-fly list is supposed to mean just that. And Shahzad's name was added to the list early Monday afternoon as a result of breaking developments in the investigation, according to a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
But when Emirates sold the ticket, it was working off an outdated list. Airline officials would have had to check a Web forum where updates are sent if it were to flag him. Because they didn't, law enforcement officials were not aware of his travel plans until they received the passenger list 30 minutes before takeoff, the official said.
By that time, passengers are usually on board.
Gibbs blamed the airline but emphasized a more positive bottom line: U.S. authorities did get Shahzad on the no-fly list and he never took off.
"There's a series of built-in redundancies, this being one of them," Gibbs said. "If there's a mistake by a carrier, it can be double-checked."

(AP) Attorney General Eric Holder, left, accompanied by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano...
Full Image
The list is only as good as the nation's intelligence and the experts who analyze it. If a lead is not shared, or if an analyst is unable to connect one piece of information to another, a terrorist could slip onto an airplane because his name is not on the watch list.
Officials allege that's just what took place ahead of the attempted Christmas Day attack on a Detroit-bound jet. In the case of the Times Square suspect, the intelligence process worked: Shahzad's name was on the list, but the airlines didn't check it when he bought his ticket.
Shahzad went through normal airport security before he boarded the plane. He was unarmed and had no explosive material on him when he was arrested.
Emirates did not return repeated calls for comments. Earlier in the day, the company issued a general statement saying it was cooperating with investigators and takes every precaution to ensure its passengers' safety.
The reliance on airlines to check government lists has been a known problem for years. The government has long planned to take over the responsibility for matching passengers to watch lists, but the transition has taken longer than expected. The new program is still in the test phase for domestic airlines and is still months away from beginning with international carriers.
---
Associated Press writers Pete Yost, Joan Lowy and Natasha Metzler in Washington and Tom Hays and Colleen Long in New York contributed to this report.

[ImmortalTRUTH]

http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=169660.0

[Tactics]

New Narrative, watch for it...

"He tried to blow people up because bank was foreclosing on his house"

you called it
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100505/ap_on_re_us/us_times_square_suspect

Times Square bombing suspect's life had unraveled
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Facebook Twitter Delicious Digg Fark Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks .Print .. AP – FBI search an alley on the property of a house where Faisal Shahzad lived, in Bridgeport, Conn., Tuesday, …
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By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN, Associated Press Writer John Christoffersen, Associated Press Writer – Tue May 4, 10:34 pm ET
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Not long ago, Faisal Shahzad had a pretty enviable life: He became an American citizen after emigrating from Pakistan, where he came from a wealthy family. He earned an MBA. He had a well-educated wife and two kids and owned a house in a middle-class Connecticut suburb.

In the past couple of years, though, his life seemed to unravel: He left a job at a global marketing firm he'd held for three years, lost his home to foreclosure and moved into an apartment in an impoverished neighborhood in Bridgeport. And last weekend, authorities say, he drove an SUV loaded with explosives into Times Square intent on blowing it up.

The bomb didn't go off, and Shahzad was arrested on a plane in New York as he tried to leave the country. He was in custody Tuesday and couldn't be reached for comment. Authorities say he is cooperating and has admitted getting explosives training in his native Pakistan.

Shahzad's behavior sometimes seemed odd to his neighbors, and he surprised a real estate broker he hardly knew with his outspokenness about President George W. Bush and the Iraq war.

"He mentioned that he didn't like Bush policies in Iraq," said Igor Djuric, who represented Shahzad in 2004 when he was buying a home.

Djuric said he couldn't remember the exact words Shahzad used about Bush but "something to the effect of he doesn't know what he's doing and it's the wrong thing that he's doing."

"I don't know if he mentioned 9/11," Djuric said, "but something like that, Iraq has nothing to do with anything."

Shahzad, 30, is the son of a former top Pakistani air force officer, according to Kifyat Ali, a cousin of Shahzad's father. He came to the United States in late 1998 on a student visa, according to an official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the investigation into Saturday's failed car bombing.





He took classes at the now-defunct Southeastern University in Washington, D.C., then enrolled at the University of Bridgeport, where he received a bachelor's degree in computer applications and information systems in 2000.

"He was personable, a nice guy, but unremarkable," said William Greenspan, adviser for undergraduate business students at the University of Bridgeport. "He would just come in and take the course as needed so he could graduate in a timely manner."

"If this didn't happen, I probably would have forgotten him," Greenspan said. "He didn't stand out."

Shahzad was granted an H1-B visa for skilled workers in 2002, according to the official who spoke to the AP. He later returned to the University of Bridgeport to earn a master's in business administration, awarded in 2005.

In 2004, he and his wife, Huma Mian, bought a newly built home for $273,000 at the height of the market in Shelton, a Fairfield County town that in recent years has attracted companies relocating to Connecticut's Gold Coast.

Like her husband, Mian was well educated. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2004 with a bachelor of science in business with an emphasis in accounting, the school said.

On her profile on the social networking site Orkut, she described herself as "not political" and said she spoke English, Pashto, Urdu and French. She listed her passions as "fashion, shoes, bags, shopping!! And of course, Faisal." She posted a picture of Shahzad, smiling, with the caption, "what can I say ... he's my everything."

Last year, the couple abandoned the home.

Neighbor Davon Reid and his girlfriend, Heatherlee Tyler, said they were puzzled that the couple moved out abruptly and left behind a mess of food, broken dishes and baby formula in the cabinets. They say the couple piled up remaining possessions in the closet of an upstairs bedroom. Tyler said there were bugs on the floors and stains.

"It was like they just picked up everything they wanted and just left one day," Reid said.

He said Shahzad was generally friendly but had some quirky habits, including jogging at night while wearing dark clothing.

Shahzad worked from mid-2006 to May 2009 as a junior financial analyst for the Affinion Group, a marketing firm in Norwalk. Company spokesman Michael Bush said Shahzad held a lower-level position dealing with the company's budget and projected income and left on good terms.

Still, Shahzad defaulted on a $200,000 mortgage on his Shelton home, and the property is in foreclosure, court records show. Shahzad took out the mortgage on the property in 2004, and he co-owned the home with Mian.

Chase Home Finance LLC sued Shahzad in September, and the foreclosure is pending in Milford Superior Court.

Frank DelVecchio, a broker trying to sell the home for Shahzad, said Shahzad told him to let the bank take it. He said Shahzad told him he owed too much on it and planned to return to Pakistan.

Authorities say Shahzad returned to Pakistan then came back to the United States. He took an apartment in Bridgeport, and his landlord told investigators the apartment came with a garage that he alone had access to. The landlord also told police that he spotted two bags of fertilizer when he saw Shahzad entering the garage May 3.

The SUV Shahzad is accused of driving into Times Square contained a metal rifle cabinet that was packed with fertilizer, but police bomb experts believe it wasn't a type volatile enough to explode like the ammonium nitrate grade fertilizer used in previous terrorist bombings.

Neighbors in Bridgeport said Shahzad kept to himself, rarely socializing or stopping to chat.

"He usually walks around alone, looking lonely and kind of depressed usually," Nejilia Gayden said.

Since Shahzad's arrest late Monday, investigators have removed fireworks and fertilizer from the property. They also recovered a gun from the car Shahzad had driven to the airport.

Federal agents also searched the empty home in Shelton on Tuesday after The Connecticut Post and The New York Times said its reporters had discovered a trove of rain-soaked documents outside the home. The Post's find included an old passport from Pakistan, an academic transcript from Southeastern University listing a grade point average of 2.78 and tax returns showing Shahzad earned $22,650 income as an account analyst in 2001.

The newspaper also found greeting cards, including one in which someone named Fayeza addressed him as "sweetest Faisal."

"Wish you happiness and joy now and always," the card said. "Praying for your bright future."

[larsonstdoc]

100 % prediction sane.  Congratulations.  I'll be calling you for my lottery numbers.

[Dig]

100 % prediction sane.  Congratulations.  I'll be calling you for my lottery numbers.

also the narrative about marital problems. this is a tactic to do force state funded and mandated weekly domestic assessments by the state to see if you and wifey are not meeting up to the Brave New World definition of a marriage.

[H0llyw00d]

what about those of us that chose not to have a wifey??.....shot on site???....dohhhhhh

[Dig]

what about those of us that chose not to have a wifey??.....shot on site???....dohhhhhh

Punishment Park!

[freedom_commonsense]

Punishment Park!

Would they shoot people who leave their partners? 

Seriously though, I don't like what's happened to the family unit...