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You Don't Say--I

"Muslim Militant Blames Washington"--headline, Associated Press dispatch, Aug. 1

A Fool and His Money

If you're like us, you've probably received those "Nigerian scam" e-mails, in which someone claiming a connection with a former government of Nigeria (or some other Third World locale, like Congo or Sierra Leone) asks you to send him money, which will multiply manyfold when he uses it to get access to looted riches. Well, the Arab News reports the Nigerian scam has come to Saudi Arabia--with a twist. "Cynical Scam Targets Saudi Arabia's Sensibilities," whines the headline:

In a recent and particularly odious example, a letter from 'Ron Wheeler' asks that [Yasser] Arafat receives the money. "Thank you in the name of Allah (peace be upon his name . . . I wish to help those that are occupied by the Zionist Killers.” (sic)

Cynically capitalizing on the horrendous events in Palestine, the sympathies of the Arab people and the profound beliefs of a Muslim nation, the fraudsters behind the letter are specifically targeting Saudi citizens.

Imagine! Trying to take advantage of those poor Saudis by appealing to their anti-Semitism! But surely there's a technological solution to this problem. A Harvard Law School study reports that the Saudis have "filtered" all manner of Web sites deemed a threat to "Saudi sensibilities"--everything from religioustolerance.org to the Onion, from the Anne Frank House to createafart.com. Why can't the Saudi censors devise a filter for Nigerian scam artists? Come to think of it, if they succeed, there's probably a big market for it here in America.

Great Moments in Law Enforcement

"A man who allegedly sold fake IDs to two of the Sept. 11 hijackers apparently fled the country for Egypt just before authorities came to arrest him in a raid on his home and businesses Wednesday," the Associated Press reports. Sounds like quite a blunder--or is it deliberate? After all, Egypt doesn't treat terror suspects with quite the degree of humanity they find in America.

Suicide Terrorism for Dummies

David Allison, a Scotsman who describes himself as "a 'political green' with Hindu religious beliefs," is planning to hand out pro-Osama bin Laden leaflets to American tourists, the Edinburgh News reports:

The leaflets show a picture of Bin Laden with the headline "Al-Quaeda Scotland".

They reproduce an extract from a fatwa or religious edict declaring a holy war on the US and its allies. The signatories include Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, chief of the Egypt-based Jihad Group, and other Islamic extremists.

The extract attacks US policy on the Middle East and calls for Muslims to take the law into their own hands: "The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies--civilians and military--is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country."

Handing out leaflets like this to Americans is a good way to get yourself killed--but not a good way of ensuring that you take infidels with you.

No Jurisdiction

Another lawsuit on behalf of terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base has been laughed out of court. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of Washington's federal district court "concludes that the military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is outside the sovereign territory of the United States" and therefore the inmates have no rights under the U.S. legal system, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, CNN reports another federal judge, Michael Mukasey, is still considering arguments over whether Abdullah al-Muhajir, né Jose Padilla, can be held without charge as an enemy combatant. "How does someone who is not a member of the armed forces of a nation state become an armed combatant?" the network quotes defense lawyer Andrew Patal ask asking. Uh, gee, Andrew, we don't have a law degree or anything, but we'll take a wild stab at it: maybe by engaging, or planning to engage in, armed combat?

Stupidity Watch

USA Today quotes an essay by Esquire editor David Granger: "'We're directionless as a society, with neither a clear idea of who our nemesis is nor the will to tackle, in a meaningful way, all the challenges." Uh, how about Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein for starters?

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2002

Answers

Sure would be nice if some American hackers went after them desert rats and their computer systems.

btw, where was it that computers were invented, anyway?

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2002

Barefoot,

I'm sure the hackers would LOVE to do as you suggested, but there is one little catch. Currently, if you're caught you could face lengthy jail terms. Now say if the .gov would give the hackers a 'free hand' to attack their sites (as long as it wasn't our sites), I think you'd see no shortage of hackers and hack attacks.

Hacking is going on, even if only in the background. Sometimes things are better left unknown.

apoc

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2002

Don't forget the "back door" hacks. In a lot of America software sold overseas, there are holes . . .

Come to think of it, there are a lot of holes in the software sold here . . . hmmmmmmmm.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2002

Calling all hacks! Calling all hacks!

[cough cough cough]

Who said that?

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2002