The floods in Queensland prove that Globull Warmists talk rubbish pt. 1

Here in Australia we have several climate zones – in the north, which includes Queensland we have the tropical zone, in the middle of Australia such as in Sydney we have the temperate zone, and in Victoria and Tasmania for example we have a colder zone.   What is important about these zones is the fact that in the tropical zone, there are wet and dry seasons, rather than summer, autumn, winter and spring. 

Australia has just undergone yet another period of drought, but thanks to the rains that we have had since winter 2010 the drought has been broken. This is due to the El Nina effect which has hit Australia. It is nothing new, and it is a part of the normal weather cycle.

The Globull Warmists, or Watermelons love to peddle their scenarios about climate change, and now we have further proof that these Watermelons are nothing but scam artists. For example, Senator Bob Brown the leader of the Watermelon Party aka the Green Party, is attempting to lay blame for the devastating floods on the Queensland miners. The problem with that theory is that it is way off the mark.

The last time there were devastating floods in Brisbane was in 1974. As a result of these floods the Wivenhoe Dam was built. The building of this dam was supposed to mitigate the effects of a severe flood, but it did not – why? I will cover that in a later article.

The Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, has announced that there will be a Royal Commission into the devastating floods. This is good news, because there is a real need to examine how the devastation happened.

I have some of my own theories about why this year has been so bad. My theories are based upon what I believe to be a lack of real judgment in decision-making, including the failure of the SEQ water authority to release water from Wivenhoe Dam in a timely fashion. Since the flooding was so vast, there are many stories and articles that need to be followed up.

In the meantime, here is a video that shows the ferocity of the floods:

check out the ferocity of the flow of water as cars are left swirling in the water.

Guess who might be considering profiling at airports despite cries from the usual suspects.

Here is yet another informative article in Der Spiegel regarding airport security. This one is quite surprising, yet it shows that at least some Germans do get it: that lining up innocent people, making them remove shoes for no good reason, and to place their laptops in a separate container is nothing more than a waste of time which clogs up the security checks as people head towards their flights.

Der Spiegel writes:

German airports are considering assigning passengers to risk categories based on their age and ethnicity, and checking them accordingly, under a proposal by the designated head of the country's airports federation. Critics say the move would foment racism, breach anti-discrimination laws and fail to boost security.

The article goes on to state that the system under consideration is profiling as implemented by the Israelis. It also points out the Britain looks like adopting the same procedure….. interesting… did you hear that Janet and TSA?  Looks like you are out of step with the rest of the world.

Here is the money quote from Blume as to why he is considering this move:

"Every new incident leads to further checks and security measures. This creates a security spiral in terms of new technical equipment which at some point will reach its technical and operational limits."

Do people really think that there will be another shoe bomber? Will a Catholic, or a Lutheran, or a Presbyterian decide to use a bit of PETN in his or her shoes in order to cause an explosion? Personally, I would expect such behaviour from an Anarchist, but I would not expect a Christian, a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Sikh, or a Jew to be involved in a plot to blow up an aircraft.

Being realistic, the threats have come from one source, but different countries. Even when they talk of British nationals, or French and German nationals, one has to look a bit deeper to see that these are naturalized citizens who have migrated from countries that are dominated by the religion of Peas.

How many men and women who like to knit, crochet, tat or do embroidery, are likely to use their knitting needles, embroidery or wool needles, embroidery scissors, or crochet hooks, or heaven forbid a tatting shuttle for such nefarious purposes as the hijack of an aircraft. If such a crime ever eventuates then I will eat my words, but until then, I think that those restrictions are not necessary.

The German proposal is that the passengers be profiled according to their background and their travel habits. The intending passengers will be directed down three security entrances. Obviously, some passengers will end up being checked more thoroughly, and I would expect that any naturalized German with the obvious profile would be checked more thoroughly. Most will be innocent of any wrong-doing but if there are any with suspicious contacts then yes, they should get the full treatment. In that way those members of the religion of Peas who are not involved in Jihad activity will be free to travel without suspicion being cast upon them, and the rest of the travellers will not have to put up with the inconvenience of unnecessary and reactive measures.

Denmark spoils the fun of some intending terrorists.

The group of terrorists arrested in Copenhagen had plans to seek revenge for the publishing of the Mo the Paedophile cartoons.  It seems that they are denying that they had any intention of doing such a thing. However, the special forces involved with counter-terrorism would not have swooped upon these Muslim Jihadist fanatics if they did not suspect that their plans were about to be put in motion.

 

Der Spiegel has an interesting article on the alleged terrorists, as well as their probable links to David Headley who was involved in the planning of the Mumbai massacre.

 

Danish and Swedish authorities are currently investigating links to the attempted plot by David Headley. Der Spiegel relates:

 

“What is known is that authorities in Sweden and Denmark are currently investigating whether there are any connections to the so-called "Mickey Mouse Project." That terror plot, which was also cantered on Jyllands-Posten, was foiled with the arrest of David Headley, a United States citizen of Pakistani origin, at an airport in Chicago in October 2009.

There is a likelihood that the plan foiled on Wednesday was at least inspired by Headley's plot. Indeed, both apparent plots bear strong similarities.

For his part, Headley was operating on behalf of top terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri. The Pakistani is the head of his own terror group, Harakat ul-Jihad Islami. In addition, he has close and very explosive connections to the terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba (LiT) and al-Qaida. Initially, Headley also served on behalf of LiT and scouted targets for them that would eventually be attacked in the terror strikes in Mumbai in November 2008. Headley had also filmed the site of an attack in the Indian city of Pune before a bomb exploded there -- in front of a German bakery. Kashmiri later claimed responsibility for the attack”

 

You can read more here

Thwarting Terrorism the English way–Proactive vs. Reactive pt. 3

In the UK twelve people from different ethnic backgrounds were arrested on the grounds that they were planning a terrorist strike. You can read about the story here. The potential targets included:

• the American Embassy;
• Big Ben;
• Westminster Abbey;
• the London Eye;
• the Church of Scientology;
• Boris Johnson’s London Mayoral Office;
• the British Stock Exchange;
• the house of the Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral;
• two synagogues

It looks like the group were planning something on the scale of the Mumbai massacre, targeting well-known sites and slipping in their possible real targets – the synagogues. Their intention was obviously to cause mayhem and to kill as many people as possible.

The special terrorism unit had uncovered written evidence of possible sites, as well as observing the group on their reconnaissance missions around London.

The 9 defendants, of Bangladeshi origin have been charged with conspiracy to cause an explosion.

Police involved in rounding up the group uncovered copies of the extremist Al Qaeda magazine “Inspire” which included instructions on how to make a pipe bomb and what to expect in Jihad.

It is said that the extremist American-Yemeni Anwar Al-Awlaki was the inspiration for the plot. The men were said to have downloaded information from the Internet, discussed acts of terrorism and tested explosives while “unlawfully and maliciously conspiring to endanger life or cause serious injury with one or more explosions”.

A few months ago I remember hearing of the warning that someone was plotting a major terrorism act. Amongst the listed targets was the Tower of London, and Buckingham Palace, and I believe from memory that either Prince William or Prince Harry were listed as possible targets at that time. I am assuming that those warnings are related to the arrests and arraignment of the 9 suspects that has now taken place.

What we see here is the results of a proactive terrorism squad. The squad does its work through surveillance. Once the plotters are identified they are watched and observed as they plan their attacks. In this case the surveillance included following the “target” suspects as the suspects were seen observing various locations for their plot.

The reactive responses to previous terror attempts do not work. There is no point to many of the measures that have been implemented when it comes to travel. If the plot has been thwarted there is no point in banning liquids being taken on board, and there is no point to banning such articles as: embroidery scissors, blunt ended wool needles, knitting needles, or even nail clippers, let alone umbrellas. Ordinary travellers are not going to use any of these items as an offensive weapon. The response to the use of the box-cutters by the 9/11 hijackers and jihadists is irrational. It is the same with the irrational requirement that passengers travelling inside of the USA must remove their shoes to go through the metal detector.

The worst of the reactive responses is the latest assault on the American travelling public namely the full TSA grope. It is not necessary to pat down those passengers. Little old men and women are not carrying bombs. Women who have had a breast removed are not going to be wearing a breast implant with a bomb inside. Neither are those men and women who have had colostomies and other similar operations. There is no need to pat down people with knee and hip replacements. If they have a letter proving that they have had these operations then they should not be molested by the TSA.

If the USA is serious about countering terrorists then they need to change their tactics and they need to stick with counter-terrorist surveillance. More terrorists have been caught via the counter-terrorist surveillance than all of the stupid restrictions at airports. Several groups of would be terrorists have been caught because of their purchase of “parts” from the ACME explosives company. The last group to have been caught purchasing ACME equipment came from Maryland. 

The increased surveillance should include security cameras in vulnerable areas such as the railway stations, but it should not include the stupid bag and body searches that are now the in thing at the airports. 

 

Responding to The Threat of Terrorism–Reactive or Proactive Pt. 2

In the first part of this article I dealt with the manner in which the USA has been reactive to the threat of terrorism, rather than being proactive. The end result of being reactive has been a series of measures, such as forcing people who are not likely to be terrorists to take off their shoes prior to entering the metal detector, as well as forcing many to undergo the indignity of searches that are akin to sexual assault.

In this part I will deal with the current threat being made against Germany, and how the German government has been proactive in dealing with a unknown but real threat of terror prior to the end of November. The details of this outline can be found in the following Der Spiegel article:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,727970-2,00.html

As a response to the intelligence received that there is an imminent threat in Germany, the security people there have done the following:

1. heavily armed police are to be seen at the Brandenburg gate;

2. increased security at airports;

3. bomb-sniffing dogs at the railway stations.

It should be noted here that the Germans successfully stopped a previous plot to blow up either railway stations or trains. It should also be noted that they have seen no reason to introduce measures that inconvenience their citizens that use trains on a daily basis. This is a direct contrast to the reactive restrictions and rules that have been introduced into the USA. However, I note that Germany uses the pornographic x-ray machines.

Der Spiegel notes the following:

The signs that Germany has increased security in light of a recent warning that terrorists may be planning an attack on the country are everywhere.

And it could stay that way for some time. Rainer Wendt, head of a major German police union, told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung on Friday that the "state of emergency" is likely to be maintained until the end of the year. He also said that, with hundreds of traditional Christmas markets, which could be potential targets, set to open soon, police in many German cities have had their vacations cancelled.

"All security agencies are in agreement," Matthias Seeger, head of Germany's federal police force, told the mass-circulation tabloid Bild on Friday. "On a scale of one to 10, with one representing no danger and 10 standing for acute risk of attack, we are currently at nine."

The drastic intensification of security measures comes following German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière's statement on Wednesday in which he said that the German government had "concrete indications" that Islamists were planning an attack and that Germany could be a target.

The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes, in reference to Körting's comments and demands to intensify German law:

"The demands (to strengthen German law and keep an eye on your neighbours) are akin to robbing ourselves of that which terrorists would like to take from us. It's like destroying our free and democratic societies to prevent their destruction from terrorist bombs."

"Terrorists won't have won if they turn the world into a crime scene and a train station, Christmas market or subway into a battlefield. Rather, they will have triumphed if they occupy our heads, control our thoughts and write our laws. The security which we demand from the state is a valuable commodity, but it isn't the state's primary purpose. It is a condition for freedom: We need security in order to be able to live in freedom. But those who want to live in freedom must accept that freedom can never be had without a certain amount of risk."

and

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"For anyone who had hoped to maintain calm in light of the allegedly heightened terror threat in Germany, there are apparently several others who are countering that effort."

"One German politician, however, cannot be blamed: Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière. During his term in office so far, he has acted with restraint, has not stoked fear unnecessarily and has avoided sounding alarmist. And he has declined to use the apparent threat to push through tougher laws. His behaviour makes both him and the warning he delivered more credible."

"Politicians, security personnel and investigators must do everything in their power to prevent an attack. A public warning is part of that effort. Such warnings can work as signals to potential attackers -- at best they can delay or even prevent an attack. Such a warning should serve public safety -- and should not be politically abused."

Rather than doing nothing when there is an uptick in the chatter, the Germans have put the nation on alert.

When the terrorists in Yemen attempted to send some bombs via air cargo, these parcels moved through Germany without being spotted. One of the packages was picked up by UAE and the other was nearly missed in the Midlands Airport in England. If it had not been for the co-operation between the various Secret Services, and that the English were told to have another look, there might have already been an air disaster once again over England.

As a result of that particular threat, packages being sent from Yemen and Somalia have been stopped. However, what is the point of putting into place a restriction that packages more than 1lb will not be flown by air from Japan? This is yet another silly policy that has been implemented because Al Qaeda attempted to send some bombs via UPS and FedEx in Yemen through to an address in Chicago. What gets me about this case is that there had been a dry run in September. U.S. intelligence must have known about the dry run, so why did they not put in place restrictions upon sending parcels from Yemen and Somalia prior to that attempt? Instead they have been reactive because the bombs were placed in toner cartridges, thus the restriction upon the size of the package.

The kinds of restrictions that have been put in place are unnecessary because they are closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Let’s face it:

• Richard Reid was caught before he could ignite his shoe bomb. You could say that the shoe bomb was a failure.
• The Underwear bomber managed to singe his balls with his underwear bomb. That bomb attempt was also a failure.
• The Times Square bomber was interrupted by the vigilance of a street vendor. Quick thinking saved everyone in Times Square at the time.
• The plotters in the U.K. who were planning to use their children to place bombs in baby drink bottles were discovered prior to carrying out the plan. No one else has wanted to imitated them.  There is no need to restrict liquids being carried in flight.
• People with prosthetic limbs are unlikely to be bombers.
• People with small children, and the children themselves are not likely to be bombers.
• Young attractive women are unlikely to be suicide bombers. It might be true if they are wearing a burqa.

One thing should be noted here: the Arabs and Somalis and other bombers have been dressed in the same way as westerners. Richard Reid had fair hair but he also had a Muslim alias. 

Once an unsuccessful bombing attempt has been made it is unlikely that it will be repeated. These Islamists will try to find other ways to carry out their plans, just like they did with the World Trade Centre. The first bombing attempt failed. However, taking over aircraft and then sending the aircraft into the twin towers worked: they succeeded in bringing down the WTC.  There must be a lesson that can be learned from this fact. So far everybody has failed to learn from the lessons regarding the first and second attacks on the WTC.