Israel Kills Innocent Protestors: Rest Of World Not Bothered

I mean, come on, exactly what does it take for Israel to provoke a truly international outcry? In case you missed it, yesterday Israeli commandos rapelled from helicopters onto a ship carrying humanitarian aid to the imprisoned population of Gaza and killed between 10 and 19 unarmed (unless you think a stick is an arm) civilian activists. Get this: the ship was in international waters about 70km from Israel. So, act of war? Piracy? Mindless, vicious and brutal over-reaction? Whatever it was, Israel has once more enthusiastically leapt over the line that divides civilized nations from rogue states.

And no reaction / comment on here? Unbelievable. Here's my full rant.

Report: UAE Disrupted Major Terrorist Ring

From today's Washington Times:

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year quietly broke up a major terrorist ring affiliated with al Qaeda that had plotted to blow up targets in Dubai - a banking hub that has long seemed immune to attacks by the terrorist group.

The disruption in May of the previously undisclosed plot came at a sensitive time for the UAE, which months earlier concluded an agreement with the United States that would allow the U.S. to sell it nuclear reactor technology and nuclear fuel...

Three U.S. intelligence officials and one former senior U.S. government official confirmed that the terrorist scheme originated in Ras Al Khaimah...

Terror alert linked to alcohol

According to Gulf News, the recent raised terror alert was caused by a conversation between two men in a bar...

"One drunk man told the other in jest: "If someone wants to scare all these people and make them run away, just say there is a bomb. A belt bomb will kill hundreds of them."

The source said it is believed that Britons sitting near the men overheard the conversation and thought it was serious."

more here

UK Warns of "high threat from terrorism" in the UAE

So says the BBC this morning:

British nationals in the United Arab Emirates have been warned there is now a high risk of a terror attack there.

Travel advice from the UK Foreign Office said terrorists might be planning indiscriminate attacks in places frequented by expatriates...

"High" is the most serious of four terrorism risk levels which the Foreign Office uses in its warnings...

One of the great selling points of the Emirates is the high level of personal safety (well, except on the road), especially when compared to so many expats' home countries. I know that I always felt much safer walking around Al Ain, even at night, than I do now that I'm back in the US.

Here's hoping and praying that either the report is wrong or that the authorities are able to stop any plots that do exist. Stay safe everyone.

Dubai Counters Rising Terror Threat

"DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, (AP) -This oil-rich Persian Gulf state has outfitted high-rises with the latest security, installed an iris-recognition ID system and nearly completed a 500-mile-long barrier along its borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia.

With such efforts, the United Arab Emirates has created one of the world's most comprehensive homeland security and anti-terrorism systems. That has kept Dubai — the jewel in the nation's crown and a stop on President Bush's Mideast trip — free from the Islamic extremist attacks that have plagued other countries in the region.
[...]
"They can build the finest security into their new infrastructure as it is constructed, unlike the U.S. and in Europe where it has to be retrofitted into the older installations, like ports, airports and critical infrastructure," said David Stone, former head of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.

Experts acknowledge that threats remain, including the possibility of radicalization among the UAE's large foreign worker population."

--more here

Sad and shocking

Via Mahmood.tv:



It would be interesting to see a similar experiment carried out in the US, my guess is they would probably arrest the "Arab" guy.