OMINOUS NEWS

rancar · Jun 25, 2002

Pakistan & India will battle it out in the near future. I can't understand wars fought over the premise of religion or ethnicity.

Agree. I've never understood these so-called religious wars. I heard this AM on one of the news stations that over the past 1,000 years there have been fewer deaths between Israelis and the Arab peoples than there has been between Jewish and so called 'Christian' nations (I use this term loosely). Think Germany and the Jewish people in WWII. Also, I'll never understand the Catholic and Protestant animosity in Northern Ireland.

Final Note: Monsoon season now starting in India/Pakistan. It's unlikely war will break out before August/September. Then watch out.

Hoosier_Daddy · Jun 25, 2002

I don't have a problem with India and Pakistan going at it but the problem is the US will be involved and it is going to cost us. It always does.

Another item that not many think about is that our stupid US Corporations have about all of their Call Centers contracted out to Indian Companies. They just send the 800 calls over there via Satelite and Cable.

Another stupid US Gov't stunt is with this Corporate Disaster Hotline that has been in the works since 9-11. It's so CEO's and Gov't leaders can talk to each other in the event of an attack. That is manned by the Indian People who are setting it up...... DUH!!!!!!!!! Nuff said.... I am getting madder with each key stroke.... Tom

rancar · Jun 26, 2002

Tom....

I don't have a problem with India and Pakistan going at it but the problem is the US will be involved and it is going to cost us. It always does.

You're right on that point. But, the U.S. will likely be a bit busy chucking their bombs and missiles over into Iraq. Then, we also have Israel embroiled in their own backyard battles with Syria, Hezbollah, H****s, and Palestinian terrorist organizations. Unfortunately, all this shaping up to be a very nasty summer and autumn. I fear this is only the beginning.

Bob

rancar · Jun 26, 2002

FYI,....Picked up the following on another bulletin board this AM. Very sobering!!!
_________________________________

Category: General Interest
From: trotsky (heinz blasnik)
To: ALL
Date Posted: June 26, 2002 at 08:56:17
Subject: Al Quaida

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Al Quaida's spokesman Suleiman Abu Ghait has given an interview to Al Jazeera. in it he said that 1. 98% of Al Quaida's leadership is intact. 2. on July 4 (that date rings a bell...) a video with a speech by Bin Laden will be published. 3. and this is the most chilling thing: "the US owes us 4 million dead, and 2 million displaced persons. we will make them pay. the attack will hit out of the blue, in a completely unexpected fashion and location." (not verbatim, just my recollection of it).
i still fear that the terrorists have somehow gotten hold of a nuclear device, or some other type of WMD. if i were in the US, i wouldn't stay in a big city on July 4. i'd go to the country side, just in case. according to several sources the 'chatter' in the Muslim extremist community has increased markedly, in the same manner it has shortly before 9/11. cities that seem especially endangered based on the scant evidence available are SF, LA and Las Vegas. of course, Al Quaida is famous for its ability to mislead the secret services of the West. so their real target may well be somewhere else.

dmccarty · Jun 26, 2002

rancar,

I think the SpokesMans is full of beans.

There are only three ways you can kill and displace millions of
people, chemicals, nukes, and biological weapons. Unless
Al Queda has managed to figure out ways to start earthquakes,
hurricanes, or volcanos. But maybe they have built a spaceship
that is collecting big rocks in space. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I just don't see a chemical weapons use that would kill
thousands of people much less millions. Remember it took
HUGE concentrations of chemical weapon delivery systems
in WWI against a HUGE concentration of victims, aka the
other sides soldiers, who really could not move out of the
way, to kill thousands. Just dont see chemicals being able
to do this in a city.

Biological. Possible but again it just takes so much to
hit millions of people unless we are talking about
smallpox or something similar but even that seems not
very possible. Cause terror and meaningless death? Yes.
Kill millions? Not likey but possible. But look what
happened with Anthrax. A few meaningless deaths but
not the Gloom and Doom End of Civilization that the
Talking Heads had been spouting... And it really does
look like a rogue US person doing spreading the Anthrax
in the first place...

Nukes. The dirty bomb just sounds like a big to do
about nothing. Most if not all of the deaths would be
caused by the conventional explosives. Then everyone
leaves the area with very little exposure to the radiation.

So that leaves a real fission or fusion bomb. We know
the Pakistani's have fission weapons and I really don't
think they are that well protected compared to the Western
weapons or even the Russians and Chinese. There was
some talk months ago that Pakistan shuffled around the
people controlling their nukes but who really knows what
that means. And who knows what the Russians are missing.
But my understanding is that Russian and Western nukes
can't just be set off by pushing a button. There are physical
and electronic measures that must be done to get them to
go boom If'n I'm remembering right they are called PALS. The
US GAVE the Russians the technology years ago. It was in
everyone's best interest.

Remember the US had numerous accidents with nukes during the
cold war. Quite a few of them crashed with their planes or fell
from planes. There was a crash of a B52 and its refueling plane
over Spain in the 60s. Four fusion weapons fell. One fell in the
Med and they others hit the ground. Some spreading radioactive
material all over the place. The US cleaned it all up. In other
words a dirty bomb. Nobody on the ground died. While the
conventional explosives went boom they did not set up the
fission/fusion reaction.

There was another BIG fusion bomb that fell out of a B47
hitting the ground in North or South Carolina. Danged near
blew down a small house it landed near. The crater was
HUGE! Again the conventional explosives went boom but
not the the fission/fusion reaction. The bomb was not
secured in the bomb bay and thus the bomb vibrated loose
and fell out of the doors... Not a good day for that crew. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I think there was another release from a B52 in eastern NC during
the same period. Same result. There is a missing Nuke from another
B47 off of Charleston, SC or Willmington, NC. Got any SCUBA gear? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

So short of nukes how are they going to kill millions of people? Possible
yes. Likely, I doubt it. Hopefully I'm right. [smirk]

In one of your earlier notes you mentioned that the US was soft. Well
many people think that, myself included from time to time. But ******
thought that in WWII as did the Emperor of Japan. They thought we
would roll over. I might be misremembering my history but I think THEY
where wrong. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

The only wars the US has lost are the ones we decided to loose...

IF the Al Queda spokesman was correct. Allah better help him.
I think the US Armed Forces would expand rapidly. Pakistan would
become very helpfull quickly or cease to exist. I don't say that
to be nationalistic or bombastic, no pun intended, but the President
of the US would have very little options. Al Queda and ANYTHING
it touched would be destroyed. Bush has already articulated his
thinking on this subject and has danced around abit. BUT if millions of
US citizens died. Iraq, Pakistan and the Saudis have a BIG problem.

Time will tell and hopefully Bush can guide this to a reasonable end....

Later...
Dan

rancar · Jun 26, 2002

Hi Dan....

So short of nukes how are they going to kill millions of people? Possible yes. Likely, I doubt it. Hopefully I'm right.

One thing I suspect about all these announcements that come from these terrorist organizations is they are more bark than bite. I hope I'm right on this matter. But, I don't think these terrorists are altogether that stupid. Their big weopon and advantage over peace loving countries is the element of surprise. They also don't seem to have any qualms over killing innocents for the sake of making a point. If I remember right, after 9-11 bin Laden said Americans were more or else guility and hence appropriate targets simply by association. If we live in America, then we, the auto mechanic, school teacher, bus driver, etc., seem to be just as guilty as the politicians that run our government. I always look for things in current world events and geopolitics that they call discontinuous events or something that comes completely out of the blue to shock the psyche and emotions of the populance. And so, while I hope I am wrong, there is that 1 in 100 or 1 in 1000 chance these terrorists could get their hands on a biological or nuclear weapon that will cause the 'collateral damage' they boast about. Gosh, I hope I'm wrong here.

In one of your earlier notes you mentioned that the US was soft. Well many people think that, myself included from time to time. But ****** thought that in WWII as did the Emperor of Japan. They thought we
would roll over. I might be misremembering my history but I think THEY where wrong.

I don't think we are soft as a nation. We have the military capability to face and likely defeat any military threat around the world. I was suggesting the American citizen was 'soft' simply because since the Revolutionary War days, our nation has never had to face an invading army that threatened the lives of the populance. (Only exception here is the Civil War but this is debatable since both sides were Americans). I was just wondering how the average American Joe would respond if terrorist armies invaded American cities and declared war on Americans resulting in multitudes of deaths (like what is now happening in Israel). I just don't think the American people are prepared for this and not sure how they would initially respond except in panic and fear.

This is real good discussion. I've thought alot about this type of thing happening to the country I love. And, I'm certainly open to all other thoughts on this topic. Anyone else have thoughts you want to share??

Regards,
Bob

rancar · Jun 26, 2002

Whoa.....now more ominous news about potential cyber attacks by Al Qaeda that feds are taking very seriously.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A50765-2002Jun26>http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A50765-2002Jun26</A>

livincountry · Jun 26, 2002

In all honesty I would prefer that the news organizations go back to the pre-9-11 news. All these reports and leaks do two things:
1) the terrorists can check the security of their communications & networking by reading the latest terrorist alerts on the news.
2) our economy takes a hit with every new alert.

I for one am constantly on the look out for oddities and don't need the consant barage of what "could" happen.

One nation under God!