UK Woman Charged As Terrorist For Computer Files 470
Terror Alert Brown writes "Reuters is reporting that a UK woman has been charged as a terrorist because of computer files on her hard drive. According to the article, these files included 'the Al Qaeda Manual, The Terrorists Handbook, The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook, a manual for a Dragunov sniper rifle, and The Firearms and RPG Handbook.' She was picked up in connection with the plot stopped in August to detonate explosives in airplanes flying out of Heathrow airport. Now might be a good time to delete any copies of the Anarchist's Cookbook you once read for amusement and still have floating around on your hard drive."
I guess it would be a good time to bring it up (Score:3, Informative)
Basically the overwhelming majority of experts on the field confirmed that liquid explosives and things like dirty bombs are not feasible or existant.
Re:She was linked to a group of terrorists... (Score:3, Informative)
Sounds like she was arrested for possession to me. I'm sure the police have reasons to suspect her as a terrist as well, but unless I read TFA wrong, she was arrested for possession of forbidden documents.
Re:I guess it would be a good time to bring it up (Score:3, Informative)
In fact, some explosives are preferred in some applications precisely because they're liquid. That's one of the main virtues of an ANFO slurry, for example. You just pump it into the holes you drilled in the rock and set it off. (The other big virtue is that it's cheap.) Since it's a liquid, it automatically fills all the gaps, and it's a lot easier just to pour it in than to try to pack down some sort of set of solid cartridges or plastic.
Nitroglycerin is another classic liquid explosive. In this case, it's a bit too sensitive, hence the invention of dynamite to stablize the pure liquid form. Nitromethane, on the other hand, is a liquid that generally needs to be mixed with a "sensitizer" to make it easier to detonate.
There's a mixture called Astrolite discovered back in the 60's that's a clear liquid, twice as powerful as TNT. Ammonium nitrate plus anhydrous hydrazine, just basic chemicals.
Binary explosives, often with one solid and one liquid component, are also commercially popular. The big advantage here is that you can transport the two components separately without special handling, since they're not an explosive until you mix them at the blasting site.
Sometimes it's most convenient for an explosive to come in the form of a gel, rather than a liquid, powder, plastic, or solid. All of these forms exist commercially today. None of them are fantastic imaginary sci-fi conceptions generated by a conspiracy to fake terror technology, as you imply.
Re:RPG handbook (Score:3, Informative)
List explained. (Score:1, Informative)
al-Qaeda Manual = http://www.disastercenter.com/terror/ [disastercenter.com]
The Terrorists Handbook = http://www.capricorn.org/~akira/home/terror.html [capricorn.org]
The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook = http://www.thedisease.net/arcana/nbc/chemical/Muj
Dragunov sniper rifle = http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/manual/english/svd/ [kalashnikov.guns.ru]
and....
RPG = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_propelled_gre
I didn't find the handbook though.
The poisons one is quite interesting. Has a poison to make from horse excrement...
Re:Is worse for those of us that bought the book. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:RPG Handbook? (Score:3, Informative)
"The 1993 case of Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service sprung from a raid by the U.S. Secret Service on the Austin headquarters of Steve Jackson Games in 1990. This raid is often attributed to Operation Sundevil, a nation-wide crackdown on 'illegal computer hacking activities', although SJ Games and the EFF claim otherwise."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jackson_Games_
Just a thought (Score:4, Informative)
You realize they sell those things at Costco, right?
The documents in question (Score:5, Informative)
I'm sure a handful of other people are posting it as I'm writing this, but here's a link to the Mujahideen Poisons handbook [thedisease.net].
Also, the Al-Qaeda Manual [disastercenter.com] (interestingly, this was distributed by the FBI)
The Dragunov sniper rifle manual [kalashnikov.guns.ru]
No luck searching for the RPG & Firearms handbook.
Re:Since when is linking a crime? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:It's a strange time (Score:5, Informative)
The Al Qaeda Manual: http://www.disastercenter.com/terror/ [disastercenter.com]
The Terrorist's Handbook: http://www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/irresponsible_a
The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook: http://www.thedisease.net/arcana/nbc/chemical/Muj
The Dragunov Sniper Rifle Technical Description and Service Manual: http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/manual/english/svd/ [kalashnikov.guns.ru]
Now don't go reading this stuff and getting yourself arrested.
Trolling? (Score:3, Informative)
Are you trolling? I laughed so hard at your comment, but then it hit me that you might not have been.
A "Republican" form of government has nothing to do with the "Republican" party. A "Republic" is a country with the body politic restrained by laws.
A "Democracy" is a synonym for "mob rule."
A "Democratic Republic" (the United States, Great Britain, et al.) is a system of government where the will of the people is restrained by laws. See the dinner analogy above involving two wolves and a sheep.
A "democracy" is not a "framework of laws" - it simply means majority rule. Forget Bush bashing.
Re:Linky? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:She was linked to a group of terrorists... (Score:3, Informative)
I think you are probably completely wrong there. I think it is most likely she has run afoul of the law for what you could call "contextual crimes", that is, having something that is innocent unless you are involved in law breaking which could involve that particular item. Some examples:
A crowbar in your workshop or garage is a crowbar. A crowbar in your hands at 3:00 AM in another town used to help break into a house is considered a burglary tool, and in many jurisdictions will subject you to heavy penalty, possibly years in jail.
Owning a gun in the United States is legal in most places. Using that gun in a crime makes it a "gun crime" which generally makes the penalty much more severe than if you had been unarmed, or armed with a lesser weapon.
Having a manual on boobytraps may be perfectly legal. That is, until you get involved with a band of extremists and make plans or preparations to actually emplace boobytraps. Then, possession of that manual becomes an element of criminal planning, and a tool to accomplish what may turn into a serious or even capital crime.
The list of manuals she had includes at least:
- The al-Qaeda Manual,
- The Terrorists Handbook
- The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook
- How To Win Hand-To-Hand Fighting
- The Firearms and RPG Handbook
- Dragunov sniper rifle manual
- 9mm pistol manual
- Anti-tank mine manual
Her reading list isn't really what you expect from 22 year old girls, it it?
If she was a soldier in the British Army, or even an ordinary subject of the Crown, I expect she would have been fine. Instead she allegedly got caught up with some sort of terrorist or extremist cell. At that point, those manuals became a tools, means to commit a criminal or even treasonous act, and her possession of them became a criminal act.
you're getting close to the "don't worry about making everything illegal, the cops will only arrest people they think are criminals" argument.
That is nonsense. There is nothing of sort implied in his statement. His statement was that the arrest of her fellow, Anjum, lead the police to her. He had some of the same documents as she did. I will also note that there were a number of other suspicious elements which lead to terrorism charges. Besides, police arrest or not, prosecutors charge or not, judges judge.
Re:It's a strange time (Score:3, Informative)
Thank you paranoia.
Traffic still kills far more people than terrorists.
I want to make clear that I agree that terrorism should be investigated and terrorists should be arrested, but not until they actually committed their preparatory crimes like obtaining guns, poisons or explosives.
Re:It's a strange time (Score:3, Informative)
Although that is more or less right, it needs to be clarified. What you should say is that they search the computers of the minority of people who are engaged in or supporting terrorism. The police also happen to dislike it when people support or engage in terrorism, like trying to blow up the police or other fine subjects of Her Majesty's realm. Fortunately, the majority of Her Majesty's subjects, including the Muslims, are peace loving people who don't engage in terrorism, and are therefore likable.
Re:Since when is linking a crime? (Score:5, Informative)
Nope, don't recall that one (Score:1, Informative)