Terrorism

Eleven LGBT bars in the Seattle area received letters this week from an individual who claims to be in possession of a biological weapon and plans to target at least 50 customers.
“Your establishment has been targeted,” the letters say. “I have in my possession approximately 67 grams of ricin with which I will indiscriminately target [...]

On ABC News Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney acknowledged knowing about and approving of the torture technique known as waterboarding.
“I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared, as the agency in effect came in and wanted to know what they could and couldn’t do,” Cheney said. “And they [...]

The Minnesota GOP is sending out a mailer attacking Barack Obama for his alleged “close ties to domestic terrorist” William Ayers. But at first glance it appears that the t-word is being applied to Obama: just above the mailing panel is the Democrat’s name and face, his head turned to the left. Near his mouth is a quote, attributed only to the New York Times. “I don’t regret setting bombs. I feel we didn’t do enough.”

CQ Politics — which has called the charge “so wrong it’s pants-on-fire wrong” — reports that Republicans in Virginia are sending out the same mailers.

A congressional committee studying hospital resources in the event of a terrorist attack on the Republican National Convention missed an important detail: the convention is in St. Paul, not Minneapolis.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee found that Minneapolis’ Hennepin County Medical Center did not have sufficient capacity to handle a terrorist attack. The committee [...]

Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman is the Senate co-sponsor of a little-noticed domestic anti-terrorism bill that could carry us several steps closer to the good old days of the House Un-American Activities Committee and Joe McCarthy. The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act (S.1959) is currently in committee after passing the House last year with [...]

At least five people have been injured in a shooting at an Omaha, Neb., mall.  Reports are still sketchy, but evidently the shooter opened fire from the top level of a Von Maur store into the crowd below.  More information will be posted as it develops.

Seeking alliances who can help fix the problems facing local money transferors, two officers from Hate Free Zone, a Seattle-based civil rights organization held talks this week with state elected officials and immigrant organizations.

On Sept. 14, bank accounts belonging to more than dozen money transferors were closed by Minnesota-based national banks, citing tough regulations. Though [...]

Neither the FBI nor the Muslim community denies that they had a rocky relationship that reached climax in the wake of 9/11. But now, both sides express enthusiasm for a new advisory group that hopes to put the past behind and look toward a brighter future.

Still to be officially named, the new group comprises of [...]

U.S. Senator Norm Coleman and his Republican colleague Rep. Mark Kennedy called for a meeting between agencies responsible for federal banking regulations and Minnesota-based money transferors in an effort to avert crises that could lead to the total collapse of remittance systems used by thousands of immigrants in the state to support loved ones.

The call [...]

I’m not one for conspiracy theories.  I don’t think that there was a cover-up at Roswell; I believe that the Warren report generally tells the truth; I don’t think that 9/11 was the joint product of the US government and terrorists working side-by-side; I’m pretty sure that President Bush doesn’t have Osama Bin Laden in [...]