News on the Documentary: Islam vs. Islamists

There has been much writing and many phone calls, yet CPB and PBS still refuse to release the documentary, "Islam vs. Islamists." If you go to this site, you may sign a petition for the release of this documentary. You may also leave your e-mail so that when we have finally won this battle, you may buy your own DVD of the documentary. I highly recommend you do. Thank you.

ALERT: EU is ripping us off & using OUR name to do it!

This is just another reason why we should never trust an ally, just like President George Washington stated in his farewell address. They will stab you in the back the first chance they get. That is what Europe is doing now.

EADS: Partner or proliferator?
CSP Occasional Paper Apr 25, 2007

In this paper, the Center argues that the U.S.'s involvement with European defense conglomerate EADS poses potentially serious problems for our security. For example, although EADS routinely bids for U.S. defense contracts, it sells military equipment to Iran and China, and has even been fingered in a scheme in which Iran purchased nuclear weapons parts.

If EADS wants to be a legitimate, reliable partner for the U.S., it must stop its dangerous and irresponsible behavior, plain and simple. Its bribery, corruption, proliferation, and anti-Americanism need to come to an end. Also, it must fully make clear the extent to which Putin's Russia - which owns a substantial part of the company - is capable of guiding EADS policy.

Until these behaviors are changed, the U.S. has every right to deny EADS a role in our national security.

View Full Paper (PDF).

We must let all Americans know the truth. This is not right. As a matter of fact, it is very dangerous! We are the informers, so let us inform! Get writing, e-mailing, calling, and doing whatever it takes to get this news to as many people as possible.

We got the truth out about Islam vs. Islamists. We can do this. Thank you for all of your help. Have a wonderful day.

Hat tip: Bryan Hill, Research Associate, Center for Security Policy.

Operation 'Appeal for Courage'

Follow this link to learn about this petition and decide if it is for you. Thank you.

Frankly, I don't give a darn who's to blame, let's fight to win!

This is simply amazing. Here we are 5 years on, and the CIA is still trying to blame the FBI for the 9/11/2001 attacks. Do you want to know who I blame? AL QAIDA! Who dropped the ball? EVERYONE.

Okay? Can we stop the infighting and get on with it? There is some very interesting news about this 'book' Tenet has written over at CounterTerrorismBlog. If you are interested in history, it's a good read. As for me and my house, we are going to contiue looking ahead so it doesn't happen again...

New blog in Afghanistan, just got there

The name of this site is Bill and Bob's Excellent Adventure, and here is what is written in the 'About me' section:

Citizen soldier with 25 years of service. Volunteered to go to Afghanistan to advise the Afghan National Army as an ETT (Embedded Tactical Trainer.)

View my complete profile.

I'm not sure if it is just one person or two, but I am sure however many it is they will need our support. Let's buck up and keep these guys feeling loved and appreciated. What do ya say? Okay then, head on over there! :)

Little Green Footballs (LGF): Most depraved Jihadists

Courtesy of LGF

Saturday, April 21, 2007

The Most Depraved Jihad Video Yet

Both LGF and I felt physically ill after watching this. Don’t click through if you don’t think you can handle it; LiveLeak has a censored clip of the ~12-year old boy seen in a newly released jihad video butchering a helpless captive: 12 year old boy beheads man (Censored Version).

The actual beheading is not shown in this clip, but it’s still one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.

Sat, Apr 21, 2007 at 2:02:04 pm PST

Technorati tags: jihadist, pakistan, al-qaeda, terrorists, muslim Extremists, islamic Militancy, depraved, religious war, religious extremists, qur'an, islam, radical Islam, little green footballs, lgf, beheading, murderers, butchers, middle east, hostage

Harry Reid, run from reality

HARRY REID: THE WAR IS LOST.
Courtesy of Rick Roberts, KFMB San Diego

DISCLAIMER: The different points of views on the Rick Roberts Show is not supported nor do they reflect the views and beliefs of The Bosun Locker or any entity affiliated with Bosun.
April 20th, 2007

What kind of message is Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader of the United States of America, sending terrorists when he says the following:

“I believe that this war is lost. And this surge is not accomplishing anything.”

Who do you think that encourages? I’ll tell you who it encourages. It encourages Ahmed G. al-Qaeda in his cave who receives the word via courier pigeon. He was probably pretty down since his ass is being kicked by our military, but once he finds out that our politicians are revisiting the Vietnam era mentality, boy, I’m sure that puts the spur right back into his boot!

Do you really think this helps America, “SENATOR” Reid? Do you really think there’s ANY legit reason WHATSOEVER that he espoused this BULL CRAP?

Reid is one of the most powerful people in our country. He should watch his mouth.

If a talk show host can be fired for one racist slip, a politician should be ousted for a treasonous quip.

You know, the last I checked, Mr. REID, our American flag was still flying high. Last I checked, we weren’t flying the Caliphate flag of the Islamic State! I’m pretty damn sure our brave men FIGHTING in HARM’S WAY for your ability to say such moronic things are NOT convinced that they’re VOLUNTEERING to fight a war that we have already lost.

BETWEEN REID, PELOSI’S NEW LEADERSHIP, AND THE WEAK SPINE OF COUNTLESS REPUBLICANS, THOSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SEE US BLOWN OFF THE MAP ARE SLAPPING THEIR KNEES IN LAUGHTER.

Once upon a time we used to enforce laws of treason in this country. “Senator” Harry Reid is a pretty damn good reason why we should start enacting those laws once again.

This is NOT how a representative of our nation protects a nation’s sovereignty and security– This is NOT how you win a war.

In my opinion, he’s no better than John Walker Lindh. SLAP THAT TURBAN ON YOUR HEAD AND GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS COUNTRY, REID!!!

Technorati tags: harry reid, turban, war in iraq, capitulation, war, America, Vietnam era, peace, activists, senate, majority leader, democrats, republicans, conservatives, liberals

Acting Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Sheikh Ahmad Bahr, From Hamas, In Friday Sermon in Sudan: U.S., Israel Will Be Annihilated

Courtesy of MEMRI

Special Dispatch-Palestinian Authority
April 20, 2007
No. 1553

Acting Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Sheikh Ahmad Bahr, From Hamas, In Friday Sermon in Sudan: U.S., Israel Will Be Annihilated; Oh Allah, Kill the Jews and Americans "To The Very Last One"

To view this Special Dispatch in HTML, visit: MEMRI HTML VERSION OF DISPATCH 1553.

The following are excerpts from a sermon delivered by Ahmad Bahr, acting speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, from Hamas, which aired on Sudan TV on April 13, 2007.

TO VIEW THIS CLIP: Video Clip of Ahmad Bahr


"America Will Be Annihilated, While Islam Will Remain"

Ahmad Bahr: "'You will be victorious' on the face of this planet. You are the masters of the world on the face of this planet. Yes, [the Koran says that] 'you will be victorious,' but only 'if you are believers.' Allah willing, 'you will be victorious,' while America and Israel will be annihilated, Allah willing. I guarantee you that the power of belief and faith is greater than the power of America and Israel. They are cowards, as is said in the Book of Allah: 'You shall find them the people most eager to protect their lives.' They are cowards, who are eager for life, while we are eager for death for the sake of Allah. That is why America's nose was rubbed in the mud in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Somalia, and everywhere."

[...]

"America will be annihilated, while Islam will remain. The Muslims 'will be victorious, if you are believers.' Oh Muslims, I guarantee you that the power of Allah is greater than America, by whom many are blinded today. Some people are blinded by the power of America. We say to them that with the might of Allah, with the might of His Messenger, and with the power of Allah, we are stronger than America and Israel."

[...]

"I tell you that we will protect the enterprise of the resistance, because the Zionist enemy understands only the language of force. It does not recognize peace or the agreements. It does not recognize anything, and it understands only the language of force. Our jihad-fighting Palestinian people salutes its brother, Sudan."

[...]

"Oh Allah... Kill Them All, Down to the Very Last One"

"The Palestinian woman bids her son farewell, and says to him: 'Son, go and don't be a coward. Go, and fight the Jews.' He bids her farewell and carries out a martyrdom operation. What did this Palestinian woman say when she was asked for her opinion, after the martyrdom of her son? She said: 'My son is my own flesh and blood. I love my son, but my love for Allah and His Messenger is greater than my love for my son.' Yes, this is the message of the Palestinian woman, who was over 70 years old – Fatima Al-Najjar. She was over 70 years old, but she blew herself up for the sake of Allah, bringing down many criminal Zionists."

[...]

"Oh Allah, vanquish the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, vanquish the Americans and their supporters. Oh Allah, count their numbers, and kill them all, down to the very last one. Oh Allah, show them a day of darkness. Oh Allah, who sent down His Book, the mover of the clouds, who defeated the enemies of the Prophet – defeat the Jews and the Americans, and bring us victory over them."

*********************

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
E-Mail: memri@memri.org
Search previous MEMRI publications at MEMRI Website

Technorati tags: MEMRI, Hamas, Islamic Salvation Front, al-Qaeda, Palestinian Legislative Council, Sheikh Ahmad Bahr, jihadist, Muslim, Friday Prayer, Terrorists, Jews, Palestine, Extremists, Religious War, Israel, Zionist, Infidels, Kafir, Martyrdom, Islamic Militancy, Islam, Arabian Gulf, Arabists, Fascists

Nat'l Recruitment Day News

There is more news for all concerned with showing our gratitude to the men and women who stand day and night to defend our country, and these are some of the ones we should appreciate as well. Over at my site for longer articles, you will find out ways you can help. Let's all get together and show them that we have not forgotten, and that we thank and honor them for their service.

Here is the Part 1, and here is Part 2. Operation Recruitment Day will be held on May 19, 2007, so you have plenty time. It is being sponsored by GOE and Soldiers' Angels, so far. Please join us. :)

Algerian and Arab Press on Al-Qaeda Attacks in Algiers

Special Dispatch-North Africa/Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project
April 17, 2007
No. 1546

Reactions in the Algerian and Arab Press to the Al-Qaeda Attacks in Algiers
To view this Special Dispatch in HTML, visit: MEMRI HTML .

The suicide bombings in Algeria on April 11, 2007, the first spectacular attack carried out by the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, brought the region to the forefront of the headlines in the Arab press - especially as they occurred in tandem with a number of abortive suicide bombings in Casablanca. In Algeria, fears for the future were underscored by memories of the dark years of the 1990s, and the press was unanimous in calling for concerted action against terrorism. Many also criticized government policies, in particular the National Reconciliation plan, which aims to reintegrate radical Islamists into society.
In the international Arab press, well-known commentator 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed criticized what he described as fallacious assumptions about the root causes of terrorism, saying that the terrorists are driven by religious extremism, and not by poverty, nor by the lack of democracy - which, he emphasized, they consider to be heresy.

The following are details:

"Algeria is Fighting a Battle of Universal Dimensions Against a Poison That Has No Borders: Islamist Terrorism"

An April 14, 2007 editorial by N. Sebti in the liberal Liberte daily, read: "Today, the entire world has understood that Algeria, beyond [the fight on] its own territory, is waging a battle of universal dimensions against a poison that has no borders: Islamist terrorism."(1)

Omar Belhouchet, writing in the daily El-Watan, called for a combined strategy of military action and democratic reform: "It is inconceivable, inadmissible, and shocking to relive the nightmare of the 1990s... In the 1990s the Algerians knew how to resist the Islamist terrorist war machine with heroism and extraordinary self-sacrifice, and they are capable of doing so again... On the other hand, they fear the resignation, weakness, and compromises [of principle] of those who have the responsibility for bringing Algeria out of the crisis.

"It is time for the Algerian state, at the risk of plunging the country into a grave political and moral crisis, to determine, once and for all, a clear policy of eradicating terrorism. The politics of the outstretched hand has its limits..."

He added that democratic reform and a crackdown on corruption were also necessary, as political frustrations only served the Islamists.(2)

Vice-Editor of Liberte: "It's Not Over"

Mounir Boudjema, Vice-editor of Liberte - a newspaper that lost four of its journalists to Islamist terrorism in the 1990s – wrote in an April 12 editorial: "The attacks in Algiers, which up to now had been a secure sanctuary, against the very symbol of political power, were designed to keep Algerians under the yoke of fear and resignation. [This was] a signal as powerful as the explosion [itself], telling us 'it's not over' and that we need to go to bed in fright and in anguish and to wake up with fear in our hearts. [It was] a message to the Algerians to give up on life and to capitulate to fatalism.

"The terrorists are right about one thing: 'It's not over'. As long as they remain living and armed, taking cover in their hideouts or in their laboratories of death, 'it's not over'. As long as the republican and patriotic forces of this country are [still] standing, 'it's not over'. As long as they have not taken in the extent of their failure to turn this country into a second Afghanistan or an open-air morgue, 'it's not over'."(3)

"Algeria Remains, Alas, Fertile Ground for Obscurantist Ideas"

Hakim Outoudert, writing in the regional daily La Depeche de Kabylie, questioned the Interior Minister's assertion that the attacks were an isolated event, and called for an ideological battle against fundamentalism in order to dry up the "terrorist matrix":

"Minister of the Interior Yazid Zerhouni... reaffirmed the 'isolated' and 'diminished' character of the group at the origin of the drama, and assured [us] as to the overall security situation, which, according to him, remains 'in order'...

"The distinction, unencumbered by complexes... between a truly fruitful National Reconciliation program and the implacable struggle against terrorism is the only responsible attitude to be adopted in order to do away with the scourge and to rehabilitate the spirit of vigilance, as much that of the citizens as that of the security forces... It must be recognized that this vigilance has been muted for some time...

"There is another necessity, and not the least one, in order to frustrate the millenarian designs of Islamist terrorism, and consequently to lessen the political import of its murderous operations: the political-ideological struggle against fundamentalism.

"In this field, Algeria remains, alas, fertile ground for obscurantist ideas, and even for the Islamist cult of martyrdom. How [else] could a young man have internalized the idea of finding his celestial salvation in blowing himself up? How many young Algerians might be in the same state of spirit, and await only a sign from the 'emir' in order to 'merit' their place in paradise, and some 'houris' as a bonus?

"Where did these young people contract this evil, if not from within Algerian society, through a bigoted media literature, but above all within the mosques in subversive suburbs?...

"[Should we] do away with fundamentalism, the matrix of terrorism, by drying up [its] ideological ground, or maintain [its] destructive potential by ceding it the terrain of political initiative? One day we'll have to choose. The sooner the better."(4)

FIS Leaders and the Founder of the GSPC Denounce the Attacks

Hassan Hattab, founder and first Emir of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (which has since become the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, the group which carried out the attacks), denied any connection with the bombings. In a telephone interview with the El-Shorouq El-Yawmi daily, Hattab said that he "washed his hands" of all those who "went down this misguided path," and said that the attackers were acting on orders "from abroad."(5)

'Abbasi Madani, former head of the banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) who now lives in exile in Qatar, told the Qatari daily Al-Raya that the attacks were a great wrong, and that the Algerian issue was a political one which could not be dealt with in this way. He also blamed the government for the attacks, though, saying that it too encouraged the violence in order to prevent a political solution.(6)

Likewise, Rabah Kebir, a former top member of the Islamic Salvation Front, issued a statement on April 14 in which he "vigorously condemned this odious, unjustified criminal act, which targeted the Algerian people and its institutions" and which had killed and injured "many victims among the innocent children of the Algerian Muslim people." He condemned "the violence that continues to [fell] victims and prolongs the sufferings of the Algerian people, thus answering to the aims of the enemies of the reconciliation."(7)

Dissatisfaction With the Algerian Government's Policies on Terrorism

In his column in Liberte, Mustapha Hammouche, a fierce critic of the Islamists, complained that Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni had (like Rabah Kebir) described the attackers as "enemies of the National Reconciliation":

"In the 1990s it was still permitted in our political culture to condemn Islamist terrorism, and even to defy it, as there were still some islands of moral and political resistance. Back then it was possible to condemn a terrorist act for what it was: an abject crime...

"Today the terrorist act is [considered] condemnable solely because it contradicts the policy of national reconciliation. It is not permitted to question the official program, even if it has failed in [bringing] that which legitimates it: peace. The critics of the sacred [National Reconciliation] plan are thrown into the same camp as those who place the bombs - that of enemies of the National Reconciliation."(8)

An April 16 editorial by Larbi Zouak in the El-Khabar daily made the same point: "The strange thing about this government is that what is important to it is not the lives of citizens who fell, and will fall, to the criminal [i.e. terrorist] groups. Rather [what is important to it is] the President's policy and the Reconciliation... Are the lives of Algerians so cheap? Is it conceivable that [the President's] egoism could extend to such a deadly level?"(9)

Director General of Al-Arabiya TV: The Terrorists Are Not Motivated by Poverty or by Lack of Democracy, but by Religious Extremism

The attacks in Algeria and Casablanca also made the headlines in the international Arabic press. In an April 15 editorial in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Director General of Al-Arabiya TV 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, wrote:

"I listened with annoyance to the same questions over and over when analyzing the terrorist incidents in our region, when the presenter at the international [TV] station said: 'Don't you think that the three incidents in Casablanca have in common that they occurred in a poor region, and that those who carried them out came from a poor neighborhood? Don't you see that [what] ties them together is poverty?'

"And in the analysis of the Algerian incident, the Western press came out and pointed to the problem of democracy in Algeria and its connection to what happened on that bloody day.

"I say that I was annoyed, because [this is] a situation that has become repeated and which has gone on for more than a decade, and in which the personalities [involved] are well-known, and whose literature has spread in all languages...

"Bin Laden, his associate Al-Zawahiri, and others are people from rich families – rich, and not just well off. In addition, none of the terrorists, despite there being thousands of them... speaks about the issue of poverty, nor do they call for elections – to the contrary, they describe elections as heresy that must be combated.

"True, there is poverty in Morocco, and a political struggle in Algeria, and the region is full of grave issues that need to be faced, from corruption to political monopoly to totalitarian regimes... but these bombings were terrorist acts that are related to issues of another kind, and have nothing to do with poverty or elections.

This is a war of people who are religious extremists."

"If the Americans Left Iraq Tonight, and the Jews Fled Palestine, and Extremist Governments were Established... This Would Not Satisfy Them"

"To make the picture clearer... This religious war has nothing to do even with the major issues, slogans [related to which] are raised in the terrorists' literature itself, like Palestine, Iraq, the U.S., etc. These are people who want martyrdom, that is, they want [to fight] war, anywhere in the world, and for any cause that has a religious angle. They want to go quickly to Paradise.

"They are not fighting for money, public reform, or for... the environment, and they are not nationalists, pan-Arabists, or communists... They are not jokers, hippies, or oppositionists. They are seekers of martyrdom, meaning that they are in a hurry to go to Paradise. They are not interested in the life of this world, and they want to take with them to the grave the greatest number of people possible.

"I know that this is an issue that is difficult for the Westerner to understand. It is also difficult for many of the Muslims themselves to accept this, and they always try to justify it with... issues that they consider legitimate and comprehensible.

"[But] the truth is that these [terrorists] want death for the sake of Allah... That is, even if the Americans left Iraq tonight, and the Jews fled Palestine, and extremist religious governments were established in Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt – this would not satisfy them... They want Paradise, and for this they will travel to the ends of the earth, to the North Pole and the South Pole, to fight the infidels, whose numbers, in their view, are five billion."(10)

Endnotes:
(1) Liberte (Algeria), April 14, 2007.
(2) El-Watan (Algeria), April 12, 2007.
(3) Liberte (Algeria), April 12, 2007.
(4) La Depeche de Kabylie (Algeria), April 14, 2007.
(5) El-Shorouq El-Yawmi (Algeria), April 12, 2007.
(6) Al-Raya (Qatar), April 12, 2007.
(7) El-Watan (Algeria), April 15, 2007.
(8) Liberte (Algeria), April 15, 2007.
(9) El-Khabar (Algeria), April 16, 2007.
(10) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), April 15, 2007.

*********************

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
E-Mail: memri@memri.org
Search previous MEMRI publications at www.memri.org

.

Technorati tags: algeria, casablanca, islamic salvation front, al-qaeda, islamic maghreb, salafist group, jihadist, qatar, memri, terrorists, jews, palestine, extremists, religious war, morocco, egypt, infidels, kafir, martyrdom, muslim, islamic Militancy, islam, arabian gulf, arabists, communists

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Virginia Tech Shooting: Deadliest Campus Shooting in 40 years

This morning it was reported that 32 people killed and 21 injured at Blacksburg, Virginia campus of Virginia Tech. This is the the deadliest campus shooting mass murder in United States education history and has now surpassing the horrors of the Columbine High School 8 years ago and the University of Texas 41 years ago.

The shooter apparently started in a dorm at about 7:15 EDT blended back into the student body and then opened fired in an Engineering Department classroom building a couple of hours later. Source Fox News: VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTING: Deadliest Campus Shootings in United States History .

The Columbine High School massacre occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado, near Denver and Littleton. Two teenage students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, carried out a shooting rampage, killing 12 students and a teacher, as well as wounding 24 others, before committing suicide. Harris and Klebold were mentally deranged students.

Perhaps those of us old enough to remember may recall University of Texas sniper, Charles Joseph Whitman, who ascended the university at Austin's 27-story tower on August 1, 1966, and shot passersbys on the campus below, after having killed his mother and his wife the night before. Whitman killed 15 people and wounded 31 others before he was shot dead by Austin police. A subsequent autopsy of Whitman found that he suffered from a brain tumor affecting the limbic system.

My heart and prayers go out to the parents and victims of this latest senseless tragedy. Details of the April 16 mass shootings at Virginia Tech are slowly emerging. An FBI behavioral analyst last fall offered some insights into these types of events. Source: School Shootings

SCHOOL SHOOTINGS
What You Should Know

10/06/06

FBI behavioral analyst Supervisory Special Agent Mary Ellen O'Toole says that despite media attention, "attacks are relatively rare."

An unrelated series of shootings at schools in recent weeks has people wondering about the safety of their children and how they can help prevent future attacks. We talked with one of our behavioral analysts, Supervisory Special Agent Mary Ellen O’Toole, Ph.D., to get some insights.

First, be vigilant, especially now, when the events are still generating headlines, says O’Toole, who works in the Behavior Analysis Unit of our Critical Incident Response Group at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. “We do believe a copycat effect takes place after these events.”

That means more than just being watchful and wary of who’s out of place in a neighborhood or school. It also means paying attention to the behavior of the people around you—especially those you know. “Be aware of people’s moods. Don’t depend just on how they answer the question, ‘How are you doing?’”

There can be plenty of signs. Most school shootings are not spur-of-the moment events, she says. They take planning and coordination. Supplies—and weapons—have to be purchased or collected. Some attackers practice firing their gun or scout locations. They often write suicide notes or other correspondence explaining their last acts.

“People who act out violently don’t wake up one morning and snap. There are clues,” O’Toole says.

Second, take all threats seriously, especially those leveled by teens, and have a strategy in place to deal with them. “Adolescents will sometimes alert you ahead of time that they will commit violence,” O’Toole says. “Don’t dismiss it as idle talk.”

In the aftermath of the 1999 Columbine High School killings, most schools in the U.S. have implemented some kind of threat assessment system. Unfortunately, there is no single profile for a potential mass killer, young or old.

“There is no typical school shooter. They don’t fall within a set of traits and characteristics,” she says. “That’s why it is so important for schools to have a fair, rational, and standardized method of evaluating and responding to threats.”

Third, please know that no matter how watchful we may be, some tragedies may simply not be preventable.

“There may not be a single thing that can be done to prevent a mission-oriented person from committing an act of violence,” she says.

“We all want to believe that if we choose just the right community or just the right neighborhood we won’t be a victim of crime,” O’Toole says. “Unfortunately, school shootings can happen anywhere in the country. There is no one location that’s necessarily immune from this kind of violence.”

“But remember,” she says, “despite the images splashed across televisions, the web, and newspapers, these attacks are relatively rare.”

Technorati tags: Virginia Tech, Campus Shooting, United States, School Violence, Gun Control, Columbine, Texas Tower, University of Texas, Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, Charles Whitman, Sniper, FBI behavioral analyst, FBI Academy Quantico, guns

Additional Links of interest: “The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective” Synopsis of Crime in Schools and CollegesHOPE Columbine Memorial Library Columbine School Memorial at Find A Grave The Depressive and the Psychopath: The FBI's analysis of the killers' motivesAll about the Columbine High School tragedy Eyewitness accounts of the UT Tower shootings Charles Whitman: The Texas Tower Sniper Court TV Forrest Preece's personal recount of events Charles Whitman Handbook of Texas Coverage of the 30th Anniversary of the UT Tower Sniper Attack The Daily Texan

Are we now going to hear from Kim Jong Il?

Are we now going to hear from Kim Jong Il?
Parody by Bosun

WASHINGTON (BS) -- Reports out of Pyongyang on Friday afternoon has pointed to confusion of North Korea's nuclear intentions, despite Pyongyang's recent agreement to begin dismantling its weapons programs in return for aid.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il who has a long history of grandstanding and manipulating negotiations over his nuclear program for his regime's gain, has often emphasized symbolism over realistic efforts to abandon nuclear bomb-making and delivery systems. Kim Jong Il is now demanding to meet with Nancy Pelosi, saying that any agreement with Presidente Boosh and his administration is old hat and that he expects the same most favored treatment that his brother in arms, Assad, received from the Democrat Party of the United States. Kim Jong Il quickly pointed out that he is considered part of the "Axis of Evil" and does not appreciate anyone else grandstanding and exploiting the news media.

"Kim Jong Il has the option to continue to manipulate the international community by alternating provocations and engagement overtures as he reshapes the political and military environment to meet his twisted objectives," undisclosed sources in Washington said.

Pelosi, just back from the Middle East was not available for comments.

Feinstein a leader in Ethics, Lobbying & Election Reform

Feinstein a leader in Ethics, Lobbying & Election Reform
Parody by Bosun

Washington (BS) - According to Senator Feinstein, "the time has come for a change in the way Congress does business. At the beginning of the 110th Congress Senator Feinstein assumed the Chairmanship of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and made ethics reform and election reform her top two priorities. It is critical that Congress do everything in its power to restore confidence in the outcomes of federal elections. The gross misconduct and influence peddling that surfaced in such a serious way in the 109th Congress must be addressed."

Feinstein, a cornerstone in the Democratic Party of the United States of America and a leader in legislative ethics, graciously resigned her post as chairwoman of the Senate Subcommittee on Military Construction Appropriations last week after a news story was inappropriately leaked by Metro Newspapers, a group of alternative weekly papers in northern California, detailing the number of defense contracts awarded to Perini Corp. and URS Corp., both of which her husband, Richard C. Blum, has ownership, according to the newspapers.

Unidentified sources in the Donkey-crat National Committee (DNC) believe that there is a logical explanation that the defense contracts would be awarded to her husband's companies, but, either would not or could not elaborate. After all, Feinstein has set the pace in ethics reform and would not be involved in such a scandal.

Perhaps the story was planted by the Darth Vader of Washington, Carl Rove? Feinstein should chair an ethics committee investigation to investigate herself and clear her name. Surely Feinstein could pin the tale on an elephant associated with the vast right wing conspiracy.

Newly appointed Secretary of State (of the DNC) and undisputed Leader of the Senate Nancy Pelosi was unavailable for comment because she was on a mission from the Blues Brothers.

On another matter, the DNC has called for another look at the Fairness Doctrine to prevent such potentially embarrassing stories from reaching the America People (unless it involves Presidente Boosh or his elephantine party). Who loves ya, Baby?