Alphecca: TV Al Qaeda

September 27, 2005

TV Al Qaeda

An Internet video newscast called the Voice of the Caliphate was broadcast for the first time on Monday, purporting to be a production of al Qaeda and featuring an anchorman who wore a black ski mask and an ammunition belt.

The anchorman, who said the report would appear once a week, presented news about the Gaza Strip and Iraq and expressed happiness about recent hurricanes in the United States. A copy of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, was placed by his right hand and a rifle affixed to a tripod was pointed at the camera.

The origins of the broadcast could not be immediately verified. If the program was indeed an al Qaeda production, it would mark a change in how the group uses the Internet to spread its messages and propaganda. Direct dissemination would avoid editing or censorship by television networks, many of which usually air only excerpts of the group's statements and avoid showing gruesome images of killings.

Let's see, the FBI can pinpoint someone on the web with porno. The RIAA can pinpoint someone doing an illegal music download/upload. But nobody can figure out where these Islamic mutant terrorists are hosting their web-TV show...

Posted by Jeff Soyer at September 27, 2005 11:30 AM

Comments

And the NSA can do it in real-time, and the VOIP vendors are looking to do it in real-time also so as to implement e911...

Posted by: John Anderson at September 27, 2005 01:14 PM

Why do these guys have to wear a freaking mask? Are they afraid somebody might identify them and blow their heads off, or are they afraid their heads will expolde from distributing so much hate and mis information. Maybe it would be better if they did get their heads blown off.

Posted by: George at September 27, 2005 02:49 PM

George asked: "Why do these guys have to wear a freaking mask?"

Y'know? The same thing occurs to me about another group that is right here in this country. Why /DO/ they have to wear ski masks?

Peet

Posted by: Peet at September 27, 2005 03:56 PM

If it's crackable the NSA's already been in the webserver and has hacked/hacking back to the folks doing the posting. Shutting the web site down could close an information source. That's the way spooks spook. That's what I'm hoping is going on.

If webserver isn't hackable then it's not hackable. That level of security is do-able with standard equipment.

I design/implement pretty big VOIP systems and networks to pay for my guns - I've played with some of the "Lawful Call Intercept" and "Lawful Packet Intercept" technology providers and their Alphabet Agency clients. They're scary - too freaking sure they're "doing good" (or geeks technologically removed from the reality) - most of wiretapping is against US citizens.

To bring it full circle, I'm with Peet: the good guys don't wear balaclavas.

Posted by: Yeti at September 27, 2005 06:52 PM

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September 27, 2005

TV Al Qaeda

By Golly, you're reading an archived post. Click Here to head to the main page and read current stuff...

Check it out:

My group sci-fi blog novel:

Colony: Alchibah